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Voting on Education and Redistribution Policies in the U.S: Does Endogenous Fertility Matter?

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  • Vera Tolstova

Abstract

This paper studies a politico-economic dynamic general equilibrium model to quantify the importance of endogenous fertility in explaining the generosity of redistribution and education policies in the U.S. Policies are endogenised as outcomes of majority voting. I find that accounting for endogenous fertility is essential for strong performance of the model in matching the levels of both transfers and education subsidies in the U.S. economy. The predictions of the model regarding a cross-section of U.S. states are used to verify the plausibility of fertility decision responses to policies and, consequently, to support the credibility of this result.

Suggested Citation

  • Vera Tolstova, 2021. "Voting on Education and Redistribution Policies in the U.S: Does Endogenous Fertility Matter?," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp681, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
  • Handle: RePEc:cer:papers:wp681
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    voting; endogenous fertility; redistribution; education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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