Democracy and income inequality: searching for a reciprocal causal relation

Abstract

The study of the relation between democracy and income inequality is puzzling scholars at least since the 1970s, however, still there is no agreement about how the relation between the two variables would shape nor how the causal mechanisms would work, and some scholars even denied the presence of any causal relation. The aim of the present work is to shed light on such a disagreement by addressing the relation between the two variables from a political science rather than a purely economic viewpoint, developing a more complete theoretical framework abandoning some of the economic premises mostly employed insofar. In particular, the work aimed to answer the following main research questions: does, and through which channels, the state’sThe study of the relation between democracy and income inequality is puzzling scholars at least since the 1970s, however, still there is no agreement about how the relation between the two variables would shape nor how the causal mechanisms would work, and some scholars even denied the presence of any causal relation. The aim of the present work is to shed light on such a disagreement by addressing the relation between the two variables from a political science rather than a purely economic viewpoint, developing a more complete theoretical framework abandoning some of the economic premises mostly employed insofar. In particular, the work aimed to answer the following main research questions: does, and through which channels, the state’sLUISS PhD Thesi