Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/81331 
Year of Publication: 
2008
Series/Report no.: 
IFN Working Paper No. 749
Publisher: 
Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), Stockholm
Abstract: 
We study the effect of political polarization on government spending and redistribution using the dispersion of self-reported political preferences as our measure of polarization. Politically polarized countries have lower levels of redistribution and government consumption. The relationship between political polarization and the size of government is stronger in democratic countries, indicating that the effect goes through the political system. The results are robust to a large set of controlvariables, including GDP per capita and income inequality.
Subjects: 
Political Polarization
Social Cohesion
Ethnic Fractionalization
Social Capital
Size of Government
JEL: 
H11
H20
H41
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
364.49 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.