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Social conflict and redistributive preferences among rich and poor: Testing the hypothesis of Acemoglu and Robinson

Author

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  • Eiji Yamamura

    (Seinan Gakuin University)

Abstract

Acemoglu and Robinson (2000) provide their hypothesis that the political elite extend the franchise to avoid revolution or social unrest. For the purpose of empirically testing this hypothesis, the present paper explores how the degree of conflict between rich and poor people is associated with individual preferences for income redistribution and perceptions regarding income differences. This paper used cross-country individual-level data covering 26 countries. The key findings are as follows: (1) an individual is more likely to prefer income redistribution policy in countries where people perceive conflict between rich and poor to be high; (2) an individual is more likely to consider the income difference to be too large in countries where people perceive conflict between rich and poor to be high; and (3) after dividing the sample into high- and low-income earners, the above two findings are only obtained for high-income earners and not for low-income earners.

Suggested Citation

  • Eiji Yamamura, 2016. "Social conflict and redistributive preferences among rich and poor: Testing the hypothesis of Acemoglu and Robinson," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 19, pages 41-64, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:cem:jaecon:v:19:y:2016:n:1:p:41-64
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    Cited by:

    1. Eiji Yamamura, 2017. "Historical education levels and present-day non-cognitive skills," Journal of Economics and Econometrics, Economics and Econometrics Society, vol. 60(1), pages 28-51.
    2. Eiji Yamamura, 2021. "Where do I rank? Am I happy?: learning income position and subjective-wellbeing in an internet experiment," Papers 2107.11185, arXiv.org.
    3. Heinz Welsch & Philipp Biermann, 2019. "Poverty is a Public Bad: Panel Evidence From Subjective Well‐Being Data," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 65(1), pages 187-200, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    conflict; income redistribution; inequality; perception;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies

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