Abstract
This paper studies the relationship between Government´s economic ideology and income redistribution, using a panel of OECD countries spanning the years 2004–2020. Our results point to the existence of a partisan effect, showing that taxes and transfer policies implemented by parties on the left reduce income inequality more than those of parties on the right. Other political and electoral factors (the proximity of the elections, the number of years for which the chief executive has been in office, and the presence of coalitional and minority governments) do not seem to be as relevant. We also analyze the role that the Great Recession and the globalization process have played in the relationship between Government´s economic ideology and income redistribution, finding that they have significantly altered it.
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The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.
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Juan A. Román-Aso and Héctor Bellido wrote most of the manuscript. Héctor Bellido elaborated the figures. Lorena Olmos prepared the results, and all authors revised the article.
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The usual disclaimer applies. the authors bear the sole responsibility for the analysis and conclusions presented in this article. They acknowledge the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation [Project PID2019-108348R-I00], the Government of Spain [Project PID2020-114354RA-I00] and Government of Aragón (Spain) [Research Group S07_23R].
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Román-Aso, J.A., Bellido, H. & Olmos, L. When government’s economic ideology shapes income redistribution. Empirical evidence from the OECD. J Econ Inequal (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-024-09634-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-024-09634-9