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Inequality and the politics of redistribution

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  • Tetsuo Ono

Abstract

This study analyzes the political economy of public education and in-cash transfer with an overlapping-generations model that features a two-class society. In this model, the dynamics of inequality are driven by the accumulation of human capital. The two redistributive policies are determined by voting, while private education, which supplements public education, is purchased individually. The model, which includes two-dimensional voting, yields the following two types of stable, steady-state equilibria: a high-inequality equilibrium with government expenditures favoring lump-sum transfers or a low-inequality equilibrium with such expenditures favoring public education. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Suggested Citation

  • Tetsuo Ono, 2016. "Inequality and the politics of redistribution," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 23(2), pages 191-217, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:itaxpf:v:23:y:2016:i:2:p:191-217
    DOI: 10.1007/s10797-015-9361-4
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    Cited by:

    1. Yuki Uchida & Tetsuo Ono, 2020. "Inequality and education choice," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 27(4), pages 980-1018, August.
    2. 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.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public education; Political economy; Inequality; D72; D91; I24;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

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