Long-Run Effects of Democracy on Income Inequality : Evidence from Repeated Cross-Sections

This paper assesses the link between democracy and inequality. Inequality is measured at the cohort level with pseudo-panel data built from nine Latin American countries' household surveys (1995-2009, biannual). Democracy is measured as a stock during long periods of time both before and after each cohort's year of birth. The paper presents evidence that long-run historical patterns in the degree of democracy relate to income inequality. However, this relationship is non-monotonic: inequality first increases with the stock of democracy before falling. The paper also presents evidence that education may be a mechanism explaining this result.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Balcazar, Carlos Felipe
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank Group, Washington, DC 2015-01
Subjects:	ABSOLUTE VALUE, ACCESS TO EDUCATION, ACCOUNTING, ARMED CONFLICT, BARGAINING, BARGAINING POWER, CAPITALISM, CITIZEN, CITIZENS, CONSTANT PRICES, COUNTRY LEVEL, CROSS-COUNTRY COMPARISONS, CROSS-COUNTRY PANEL, CROSS-COUNTRY STUDIES, DATA SET, DATA SETS, DEMOCRACIES, DEMOCRACY, DEMOCRATIC REGIMES, DEPENDENT VARIABLE, DEPRESSION, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, DICTATORSHIP, DIFFERENTIAL PATHS, DISCRIMINATION, DISTRIBUTIVE POLITICS, EARNINGS INEQUALITY, ECONOMIC CHANGE, ECONOMIC CHANGES, ECONOMIC CRISES, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC HISTORIANS, ECONOMIC INEQUALITY, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES, ECONOMIC POLICIES, ECONOMIC RESEARCH, ECONOMIC REVIEW, ECONOMICS, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, EGALITARIAN DISTRIBUTION, ELECTIONS, EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS, EMPIRICAL FINDINGS, EMPIRICAL RESEARCH, EMPIRICAL STUDIES, EMPIRICAL TEST, FACTOR ENDOWMENTS, FAMILY INCOME, FINANCIAL CRISIS, FORCED LABOR, FRANCHISE, GDP, GENDER DIFFERENCES, GENDER ROLES, GENDER ~ DIFFERENCES, GOVERNMENT POLICIES, HIGH INEQUALITY, HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT, HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, IMPACT OF CONFLICT, INCOME INEQUALITY, INCOME INEQUALITY DATA, INCOME REDISTRIBUTION, INCOMES, INCREASED RETURNS, INCUMBENT, INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, INEQUALITY EFFECT, INEQUALITY EQUATION, INEQUALITY ESTIMATES, INFLATION, INSTITUTIONAL ECONOMICS, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION, INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION, JOB OPPORTUNITIES, LABOR ECONOMICS, LABOR MARKETS, LABOR UNIONS, LAWS, LEGAL FRAMEWORK, LEGISLATORS, LEGITIMACY, LIFE EXPECTANCY, LITERACY RATES, LOW INCOME, MACROECONOMICS, MEAN INCOME, MEASUREMENT ERROR, MEDIAN INCOME, MEDIAN VOTER, MINIMUM WAGES, MINORITY, MONOPOLY, ORGANIZED LABOR, PEACE, PERSISTENT INEQUALITY, POLICY DISCUSSIONS, POLICY PROCESS, POLICY RESEARCH, POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER, POLICY-MAKING PROCESS, POLITICAL CHANGE, POLITICAL CONTROL, POLITICAL ECONOMY, POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GROWTH, POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT, POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS, POLITICAL PARTICIPATION, POLITICAL PARTIES, POLITICAL POWER, POLITICAL SCIENCE, POLITICAL STABILITY, POLITICAL UNREST, POOR PEOPLE, PRIMARY EDUCATION, PRODUCTIVITY, PROGRESS, PROPERTY RIGHTS, PUBLIC CHOICE, PUBLIC EDUCATION, PUBLIC INVESTMENT, PUBLIC SERVICES, PUBLIC SPENDING, PURCHASING POWER, PURCHASING POWER PARITY, QUALITY OF EDUCATION, QUALITY OF LIFE, RECESSION, REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACIES, REPUBLIC, RIGHT-WING, RULE OF LAW, SCHOOL YEARS, SERIAL CORRELATION, SOCIAL NORMS, SOCIAL OUTCOMES, SOCIAL POLICY, SOCIAL STRUCTURE, SOCIALISM, SUFFRAGE, TAXATION, TEENAGERS, TREATY, UNEMPLOYMENT, UNIONS, URBAN AREAS, WAGE STRUCTURE, WAR, WARS,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/01/23172053/long-run-effects-democracy-income-inequality-evidence-repeated-cross-sections https://hdl.handle.net/10986/21150
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