A model of endogenous growth is presented, based on productive public expenditures, and featuring some degree of income inequality, and polarization in policy preferences. The main innovation lays in the political process determining capital taxation that relies, both on voting and on "influence...

This paper studies the origin of Piketty's inequality between the profit rate (r) and the growth rate of the national income (g) by focusing on the growth rate (gamma) of the r⁄g ratio in an economy that grows gradually along a succession of production cycles. It is shown that, given a...

A defining feature of meritocratic societies is that resource distributions reflect individual effort levels. However, this introduces a dilemma in a world where parents care for their children. If one pair of parents works harder than a second pair of parents, the first pair has merited the...

Using a laboratory experiment, we present first evidence that social image concerns causally reduce the take-up of an individually beneficial transfer. Our design manipulates the informativeness of the take-up decision by varying whether transfer eligibility is based on ability or luck, and how...

Using a laboratory experiment, we present first evidence that social image concerns causally reduce the take -up of an individual ly beneficial transfer. Our design manipulates the informativeness of the take- up decision by varying whether transfer eligibility is based on ability or luck, and...

Using a laboratory experiment, we present first evidence that social image concerns causally reduce the take-up of an individually beneficial transfer. Our design manipulates the informativeness of the take-up decision by varying whether transfer eligibility is based on ability or luck, and how...