"Is inequality harmful for economic growth? Is the underdevelopment of Latin America related to its unequal … distribution of wealth? A recently emerging consensus claims not only that economic inequality has detrimental effects on economic … growth in general, but also that differences in economic inequality across the American continent during the 19th century are …

so, they are effectively accepting a certain amount of politician (presidential) rents in return for redistribution. We … better organized and are more likely to be able to influence or bribe politicians; and when inequality and potential taxes … are high (which makes redistribution more valuable to the majority). We show that the main intuition, that checks and …