This paper studies how heterogeneity in income dynamics affects the POUM hypothesis (the idea that poor people do not support high level of redistribution because they hope to be rich in the future). We consider a setting where individuals evaluate their expected future income using both their current income and observable characteristics such as education, race or gender. We find that the POUM effect could increase or decrease the support for redistribution depending on the parameters of the model. Moreover we find that the POUM effect is independent of a particular shape (the concavity) of the resulting aggregate income transition function. Finally, using data from Italy, we test the model and perform a first empirical estimation of the POUM effect in Italy.
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Paper provided by Faculty of Economics and Statistics, University of Innsbruck in its series Working Papers with number
2008-02.
Find related papers by JEL classification: D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Models of Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior P16 - Economic Systems - - Capitalist Systems - - - Political Economy of Capitalism H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
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Stewart, Mark B & Swaffield, Joanna K, 1999.
"Low Pay Dynamics and Transition Probabilities,"
Economica,
London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 66(261), pages 23-42, February.
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