We develop a theory of political transitions inspired in part by the experiences of Western Europe and Latin America …. Nondemocratic societies are controlled by a rich elite. The initially disenfranchised poor can contest power by threatening social … unrest or revolution and this may force the elite to democratize. Democracy may not consolidate because it is more …

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 …

We develop a quantitative theory of repeated political transitions driven by revolts and reforms. In the model, the … explore circumstances of successful democratization, finding that the sentiment of political outsiders is key for creating a …

We conduct a laboratory experiment to study how demand for redistribution of income depends on self-interest, insurance … is affected by redistribution. We estimate utility weights for the different sources of demand for redistribution, with …