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The politics of income inequality in the United States
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ISBN: 9781107400368 9780521514583 0521514584 9780511576225 9780511508486 0511508484 9780511504891 0511504896 1107190223 9781107190221 0511509146 9780511509148 9786612058608 6612058609 0511507038 9780511507038 0511576226 1107400368 Year: 2009 Publisher: Cambridge Cambridge University Press

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Abstract

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.

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