Economic Equality and Victory in War: An Empirical Investigation

James Galbraith (), Corwin Priest () and George Purcell
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James Galbraith: The University of Texas Inequality Project, The University of Texas at Austin
George Purcell: The University of Texas Inequality Project, The University of Texas at Austin

No 51, Working Papers from ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality

Abstract: This paper tests a simple hypothesis: that given the occurrence of war between two countries, the country that is more egalitarian at the moment of military decision is likely to emerge the victor. First, we examine cases where comparative economic inequality can be measured directly, using the nearly comprehensive global data-sets of the University of Texas Inequality Project for the years 1963-1999. Second, we examine cases where reasonable inferences about comparative economic inequality may be drawn by analogy to UTIP measurements or from other political and economic evidence, including both bi-national wars and larger wars where there existed clear pair-wise fronts. Third, we discuss selected cases where inferences may be drawn from literary or historical sources. We find, all in all, that the evidence for an egalitarian victory proposition is remarkably strong.

Pages: 27 pages
Date: 2006
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http://www.ecineq.org/milano/WP/ECINEQ2006-51.pdf (application/pdf)

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Journal Article: ECONOMIC EQUALITY AND VICTORY IN WAR: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION (2007)
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