Inequality and Redistribution. A Unified Approach to the Role of Economic and Political Institutions

Torben Iversen and David Soskice

Revue économique, 2011, vol. 62, issue 4, 629-649

Abstract: This paper explains the enduring disparities in inequality and welfare states across advanced economies in terms of varieties of capitalism and political systems. Where capitalism is coordinated as in much of Northern Europe, political systems are consensus-based with pr elections; consensus politics and coordinated capitalism reinforce each other in generating relatively low inequality and strong welfare states. Where capitalism is liberal ?the Anglo-Saxon countries? political systems are competitive with majoritarian voting: mutual reinforcement of politics and capitalism generates relatively inegalitarian outcomes and safety-net welfares states. Both systems sustain potentially internationally competitive economies, with different comparative institutional advantages and success in different sectors of world markets.

Date: 2011
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