Does redistribution in democracies cater to the will of the majority? We propose and apply a simple empirical strategy based on survey data to address that longstanding issue. Differently from previous evaluations of the median-voter theory, ours does not assume that voters are guided by...

What is the relationship between income inequality and the values people endorse? Using survey data from all thirty-four OECD countries over a period of almost thirty years, we investigate the following dimensions of value systems: work ethic, civism, obedience, honesty, altruism, and tolerance....

This paper offers a comprehensive econometric investigation of the impact of income inequality on the values endorsed by people. Using survey data from all thirty-four OECD countries over a period of almost thirty years, the following dimensions of value systems are investigated: work ethic,...

This paper examines the allocative implications of progressive income taxation when individuals care about their relative income. It shows that tax progressivity might improve efficiency, and the more so in egalitarian economies. Introducing a progressive income tax can yield a Pareto...

When capital is perfectly mobile across countries and labour is fixed, a source-based tax on capital both reduces and redistributes world income. We show that under plausible circumstances there always exists a country that benefits from introducing such a tax.

The present paper integrates the empirical research on preference for redistribution. We analyze the influence of individual and socio-economic characteristics, beliefs, social identity and social class on individual preferences for redistribution. Macroeconomic conditions and the relative size...

We analyse and compare individual beliefs about the effects of competition and their evolution over time in transition economies and experienced market economies. At the onset of transition, competition beliefs in transition countries are far more positive than in market economies. Over time,...

For a representative sample of German taxpayers, atypical slopes of Engel curves imply fis-cal incomes to be a biased measure of taxpayers’ abilities to consume. Yet, we show that, in general, the dataset provides sufficient information for converting taxpayers’ fiscal incomes into economic,...

This paper analyzes and compares individual beliefs about the effects of competition and the evolution of those beliefs over time in transition economies and experienced market economies. At the onset of transition, competition beliefs in transition countries are far more positive than in...