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Children of Communism: The Former Party Membership and Demand for Redistribution

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  • Libman, Alexander

    (Freie Universität Berlin)

  • Popova, Olga

    (Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS))

Abstract

The paper looks at the persistence of egalitarian norms in post-Communist societies by focusing on the former members of the Communist parties in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Russia and their children. Using the individual-level survey data, we show that there are striking differences between Russia and the CEE countries in this respect. While in the CEE both former members of the Communist parties and their children have stronger preferences for redistribution than the rest of the population, in Russia former CPSU members do not exhibit stronger preferences for redistribution – at the same time, their children support redistribution.

Suggested Citation

  • Libman, Alexander & Popova, Olga, 2022. "Children of Communism: The Former Party Membership and Demand for Redistribution," IZA Discussion Papers 15816, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15816
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nikolova, Milena & Popova, Olga, 2023. "Echoes of the Past: The Enduring Impact of Communism on Contemporary Freedom of Speech Values," IZA Discussion Papers 16657, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Communist Party; inequality; redistribution; Russia; Visegrad group;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General
    • P36 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty
    • P52 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - Comparative Studies of Particular Economies

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