Political Equilibrium, Income Distribution, and Growth.

This paper analyzes the impact of income distribution on growth when investment in human capital is the source of growth and individuals vote over the degree of redistribution in the economy. The model has three main features. First, very different patterns of income distribution are conducive to high growth at different levels of per capita income. Second, growth is associated with an externality whereby investment in human capital by one group increases the productivity of other groups, thus potentially enabling them to invest in human capital. Third, the initial pattern of income distribution is crucial in determining the transmission of this externality. Copyright 1993 by The Review of Economic Studies Limited.