regime changes are often followed by redistribution to the poor at the expense of the former elite. We argue that the reason … why the elite may have to resort to full-scale democratization, despite its apparent costs to themselves, may be that …Regimes controlled by a rich elite often collapse and make way for democracy amidst widespread social unrest. Such …

; Political Economy ; Redistribution …

distinguishes different subgroups of a society, some of which have a potential for pursuing a redistribution of wealth in its … redistribution cycles, leading to failed states. For much the same reason, democratic constitutions contain effective measures … against redistribution cycles. Stability within non-democracies, by contrast, can be explained by the fact that commitments …

This paper explores the extent to which episodes of democratization can be explained by variation in income inequality … mis-specified models. Guided by a theoretical nuance of the new economic view of democratization proposed by Acemoglu and … Robinson (2001), our empirical examination considers the possibility that the effect of income inequality on democratization …

In this paper we revisit the relationship between democracy, redistribution and inequality. We first explain the … theoretical reasons why democracy is expected to increase redistribution and reduce inequality, and why this expectation may fail … suggesting that inequality tends to increase after democratization when the economy has already undergone significant structural …