Why Doesn't the US Have a European-Style Welfare System? / Alberto Alesina, Edward Glaeser, Bruce Sacerdote.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Alesina, Alberto.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Glaeser, Edward.

Sacerdote, Bruce.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w8524.

NBER working paper series no. w8524

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Income distribution--United States.

Income distribution.

Income distribution--Europe.

Minorities--Economic conditions.

Minorities.

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2001.

Cambridge, Massachusetts : National Bureau of Economic Research, 2001.

Summary:

European countries are much more generous to the poor relative to the US level of generosity. Economic models suggest that redistribution is a function of the variance and skewness of the pre-tax income distribution, the volatility of income (perhaps because of trade shocks), the social costs of taxation and the expected income mobility of the median voter. None of these factors appear to explain the differences between the US and Europe. Instead, the differences appear to be the result of racial heterogeneity in the US and American political institutions. Racial animosity in the US makes redistribution to the poor, who are disproportionately black, unappealing to many voters. American political institutions limited the growth of a socialist party, and more generally limited the political power of the poor.

Notes:

Print version record

October 2001.