Income Inequality and Redistribution in Sub-Saharan Africa

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Main author: Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel
Other authors: Scaturro, Francesca
Jordá, Vanesa
Tarp, Finn
Format: Monographs and Working Papers           
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id eprints-38311
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
description The theoretical expectation postulated by standard economic theory is that high inequality would lead to higher redistribution via the collective action of the median voter. In this paper, we adopt an instrumental variable approach to test the median voter hypothesis with specific reference to sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Overall, we find a positive relationship between inequality and redistribution, especially among middle-income countries, which is driven by the abundance of natural resource rents. Thus, our results do not provide strong evidence to support the median voter theorem, but instead, call for alternative interpretations, more closely to the existence of multiple steady states.
format Monographs and Working Papers
author Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel
author_facet Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel
Scaturro, Francesca
Jordá, Vanesa
Tarp, Finn
authorStr Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel
author_letter Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel
author2 Scaturro, Francesca
Jordá, Vanesa
Tarp, Finn
author2Str Scaturro, Francesca
Jordá, Vanesa
Tarp, Finn
title Income Inequality and Redistribution in Sub-Saharan Africa
publisher African Economic Research Consortium. Working Paper GPIR-001
publishDate 2022
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/38311/

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