Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/216510 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 8114
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
We study the effect of franchise extension on the fiscal structure of central and local governments in the United Kingdom between 1820 and 1913 to revisit the Redistribution Hypothesis - the prediction that franchise extension causes an increase in state-sponsored redistribution. We adopt a novel method of uncovering causality from non-experimental data proposed by Hoover (2001). This method is based on tests for structural breaks in the marginal and conditional distributions of the franchise and fiscal structure time series preceded by a detailed historical narrative analysis. We do not find any compelling evidence that supports the Redistribution Hypothesis.
Subjects: 
franchise extension
redistribution
democratization
causality
structural breaks
local government
central government
historical narrative
JEL: 
D72
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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