The Political Geography of Inequality: Regions and Redistribution

This book is a study of the politics of redistribution and inequality in political unions. It addresses two questions: why some political systems have more centralized systems of interpersonal redistribution than others, and why some political unions make larger efforts to equalize resources among their constituent units than others. This book presents a new theory of the origin of fiscal structures in systems with several levels of government. The argument points to two major factors to account for the variation in redistribution: the interplay between economic geography and political representation on the one hand, and the scope of interregional economic externalities on the other. To test the empirical implications derived from the argument, the book relies on in-depth studies of the choice of fiscal structures in unions as diverse as the European Union, Canada, and the United States in the aftermath of the Great Depression; Germany before and after Reunification; and Spain after the transition to democracy.

Author: Pablo Beramendi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 06/05/2014
Pages: 318
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.08lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.71d
ISBN: 9781107637214

About the Author
Beramendi, Pablo: - Pablo Beramendi is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Duke University. His research focuses on the political economy of redistribution and inequality. Previously, he has taught at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University and at the Department of Politics at the University of Oxford. He is also a research associate at the Juan March Institute (Madrid) and a former research Fellow at the Science Center (Berlin). Among his published work are articles on the determinants of taxation and inequality; the role of inequality in shaping electoral turnout; and the relationship between federalism, inequality, and redistribution.

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