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Democracy and income inequality : an empirical analysis

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Author Info
Gradstein, Mark
Milanovic, Branko
Ying, Yvonne

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Abstract

Standard political economy theories suggest that democratization has a moderating effect on income inequality. But the empirical literature has failed to uncover any such robust relationship. The authors take another look at the issue. The authors argue that prevailing ideology may be an important determinant of inequality and that the democratization effect"works through"ideology. In societies that value equality highly there is less distributional conflict among income groups, so democratization may have only a negligible effect on inequality. But in societies that value equality less, democratization reduces inequality through redistribution as the poor outvote the rich. The authors'cross-country empirical analysis, covering 126 countries in 1960-98, confirms the hypothesis: ideology, as proxied by a country's dominant religion, seems to be related to inequality. In addition, while in Judeo-Christian societies increased democratization appears to lead to lower inequality, in Muslim and Confucian societies it has an insignificant effect. The authors hypothesize that Muslim and Confucian societies rely on informal transfers to reach the desired level of inequality, while Judeo-Christian societies, where family ties are weaker, use political action.

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Paper provided by The World Bank in its series Policy Research Working Paper Series with number 2561.

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Date of creation: 31 Mar 2001
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Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:2561

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Keywords: Governance Indicators; Inequality; Poverty Impact Evaluation; Human Rights; National Governance;

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References listed on IDEAS
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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.)

  1. César Calderón & Alberto Chong, 2009. "Labor market institutions and income inequality: an empirical exploration," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 138(1), pages 65-81, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Ruth Uwaifo Oyelere, 2007. "Within and Between Gender Disparities in Income and Education Benefits from Democracy," IZA Discussion Papers 3221, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  3. Milanovic, Branko & Hoff, Karla & Horowitz, Shale, 2008. "Political Alternation as a Restraint on Investing in Influence: Evidence from the Post-Communist Transition," MPRA Paper 11829, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Branko Milanovic, 2003. "Can We Discern The Effect Of Globalization On Income Distribution? Evidence From Household Surveys," HEW 0310002, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Fabrizio Carmignani, 2005. "Efficiency Of Institutions, Political Stability And Income Dynamics," Public Economics 0503007, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  6. Anneli Kaasa, 2005. "Factors Of Income Inequality And Their Influence Mechanisms: A Theoretical Overview," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 40, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia). [Downloadable!]
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