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Children of Communism: Former Party Membership and the Demand for Redistribution

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  • Alexander Libman
  • Olga Popova

Abstract

The paper looks at the persistence of egalitarian norms in post-Communist societies by focusing on the former members of the Communist parties in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Russia and their children. Using individual-level survey data, we distinguish between Russia and the CEE countries in this respect. While in the CEE there is some evidence that both former members of the Communist parties and their children have stronger preferences for redistribution than the rest of the population (the results for the children are more significant), in Russia, only children of Communists (but not Communists themselves) support redistribution.

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  • Alexander Libman & Olga Popova, 2023. "Children of Communism: Former Party Membership and the Demand for Redistribution," Eastern European Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 61(3), pages 199-237, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:mes:eaeuec:v:61:y:2023:i:3:p:199-237
    DOI: 10.1080/00128775.2023.2195833
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    Cited by:

    1. Nikolova, Milena & Popova, Olga, 2023. "Echoes of the Past: The Enduring Impact of Communism on Contemporary Freedom of Speech Values," IZA Discussion Papers 16657, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General
    • P36 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty
    • P52 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - Comparative Studies of Particular Economies

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