This paper examines the determination of the rate of growth in an economy in which two political parties, each representing a different social class, negotiate the magnitude and allocation of taxes. Taxes may increase growth if they finance public services but reduce growth when used to redistribute income between classes. The different social classes have different preferences about growth and redistribution. The resulting conflict is resolved through the tax negotiations between the political parties. I use the model to obtain empirical predictions and policy lessons about the relationship between economic growth and income inequality. The model is consistent with the observation that differences in growth rates across countries are negatively related to income inequality. However, government policy cannot simultaneously increase growth and reduce inequality.
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Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta in its series Working Paper with number
95-3.
Length: Date of creation: 1995 Date of revision: Publication status: Published in Journal of Monetary Economics, April 1998 Handle: RePEc:fip:fedawp:95-3
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Chari, V V & Kehoe, Patrick J, 1990.
"Sustainable Plans,"
Journal of Political Economy,
University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(4), pages 783-802, August.
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Other versions:
V.V. Chari & Patrick J. Kehoe, 1989.
"Sustainable plans,"
Staff Report
122, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
[Downloadable!]
Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)