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The Influence of Inequality on Welfare Generosity

Author

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  • Lyle Scruggs
  • Thomas J. Hayes

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between income concentration and policy outputs that determine the generosity of two major state-level safety net programs: unemployment insurance and cash social assistance. Using a difference in differences framework, it tests the degree to which the top 1 percent share is associated with benefit replacement rates for these programs during the period 1978–2010. The results suggest that higher state income inequality lowers those states’ welfare benefits significantly in ways consistent with a “plutocracy†hypothesis that has been suggested in work by scholars such as Bartels, Bonica, Gilens, and Page. The results are robust to controls for several alternative explanations for benefit generosity, including citizen ideology, party control of government, fiscal pressure on programs, state racial heterogeneity, and public opinion liberalism. The results thus support the notion that growing income concentration at the very top undermines social protection policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Lyle Scruggs & Thomas J. Hayes, 2017. "The Influence of Inequality on Welfare Generosity," Politics & Society, , vol. 45(1), pages 35-66, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:polsoc:v:45:y:2017:i:1:p:35-66
    DOI: 10.1177/0032329216683165
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Bea Cantillon & Zachary Parolin & Diego Collado, 2018. "Rising Inequalities and Welfare Generosity: Structural Constraints on the Adequacy of Minimum Incomes in European and American Welfare States," Working Papers 1809, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    2. Liza G. Steele & Nate Breznau, 2019. "Attitudes toward Redistributive Policy: An Introduction," Societies, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-12, June.
    3. John C. Boik, 2021. "Science-Driven Societal Transformation, Part III: Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-26, January.
    4. M. D. R. Evans & Jonathan Kelley, 2018. "Strong Welfare States Do Not Intensify Public Support for Income Redistribution, but Even Reduce It among the Prosperous: A Multilevel Analysis of Public Opinion in 30 Countries," Societies, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-52, October.
    5. John C. Boik, 2020. "Science-Driven Societal Transformation, Part III: Design," Working Paper 0012, Principled Societies Project.

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