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Institutional persistence, income inequality, and individual attitudes

Author

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  • Alberto Chong

    (Georgia State University
    Universidad del Pacifico)

  • Mark Gradstein

    (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev)

Abstract

Aspects of institutional quality vary substantially across countries, but are quite persistent over time. Further, institutional quality is correlated with income inequality, even among democracies. To account for these regularities, we offer a model where individual attitudes, toward inequality or trust in government, feature in voters’ preferences. The model displays path dependence, whereby inequality and institutional quality feed each other. It is suggested that this may explain the long shadow of historical legacies of postcolonial experiences. Simple correlations of reported attitudes using data from the World Values Surveys are consistent with the model.

Suggested Citation

  • Alberto Chong & Mark Gradstein, 2019. "Institutional persistence, income inequality, and individual attitudes," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 17(3), pages 401-413, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joecin:v:17:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s10888-019-09414-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s10888-019-09414-w
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    Cited by:

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    2. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm, 2023. "Export Product Quality and Inclusivity in Developing Countries," EconStor Preprints 274651, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    3. Izaskun Zuazu, 2022. "Electoral systems and income inequality: a tale of political equality," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(2), pages 793-819, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Institutional persistence; Inequality; Attitudes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • H8 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues

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