Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/247229 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
Discussion Paper No. 255
Publisher: 
Institute for Applied Economic Research (ipea), Brasília
Abstract: 
Despite improvements in the living conditions of the population, there has not been a significant change in income disparities. Since the growth of left-wing parties and political competition as per the median voter hypothesis do not stand in the Brazilian case, what could explain the tenacity of inequality in the country? To answer this, the paper, grounded in new institutionalism theory, employed a process-tracing method to explore the causes of the continuity of unequal income distribution in Brazil. The inquiry tests the mechanism using the case of redistributive fiscal policy and the literature of electoral rules and business influence in the political system. This analysis reinforces that the Brazilian government not only misuses its fiscal instruments to distribute income, but also acts as a 'Robin Hood in reverse': that is, it withdraws from those who have less to subsidize or pay transfers to those who have more.
Subjects: 
Brazil
fiscal policy
inequality
institutions
political economy
JEL: 
H83
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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