The politics of income inequality in the United States:

This book revolves around one central question: do political dynamics have a systematic and predictable influence on distributional outcomes in the United States? The answer is a resounding yes. Utilizing data from mass income surveys, elite surveys and aggregate time series, as well as theoretical...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kelly, Nathan J. (Author)
Format: Electronic eBook
Language:English
Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:BSB01
UBG01
Volltext
Summary:This book revolves around one central question: do political dynamics have a systematic and predictable influence on distributional outcomes in the United States? The answer is a resounding yes. Utilizing data from mass income surveys, elite surveys and aggregate time series, as well as theoretical insights from both American and comparative politics, Kelly shows that income inequality is a fundamental part of the US macro political system. Shifts in public opinion, party control of government and the ideological direction of policy all have important consequences for distributional outcomes. Specifically, shifts to the left produce reductions in inequality through two mechanisms - explicit redistribution and market conditioning. Whereas many previous studies focus only on the distributional impact of redistribution, this book shows that such a narrow strategy is misguided. In fact, market mechanisms matter far more than traditional redistribution in translating macro political shifts into distributional outcomes
Item Description:Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015)
Physical Description:1 online resource (xiii, 201 pages)
ISBN:9780511576225
DOI:10.1017/CBO9780511576225

There is no print copy available.

Interlibrary loan Place Request Caution: Not in THWS collection! Get full text