This paper documents a significant association between the exposure of an individual or
area to the UK government's austerity-induced welfare reforms begun in 2010, and the …

An international and historical look at how parenting choices change in the face of economic
inequality Parents everywhere want their children to be happy and do well. Yet how parents …

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 …

Abstract Thomas Piketty's (2013) book, Capital in the 21st Century, follows in the tradition of
the great classical economists, like Marx and Ricardo, in formulating general laws of …

We construct a model to study the implications of changes in political institutions for
economic institutions. A change in political institutions alters the distribution of de jure …

International surveys reveal wide differences between the views held in different countries
concerning the causes of wealth or poverty and the extent to which people are responsible …

We construct a simple model where political elites may block technological and institutional
development, because of a “political replacement effect.” Innovations often erode elites' …

The nineteenth century witnessed dramatic improvements in the legal rights of married
women. Given that they took place long before women gained the right to vote, these …

We present a theory of the emergence and persistence of inefficient states based on
patronage politics. The society consists of rich and poor. The rich are initially in power, but …

This article surveys the theoretical literature on legislative bargaining with endogenous
status-quo. These are the legislative bargaining situations in which in each period a new …