Does Inequality Lead to Conflict?

Indranil Dutta and Ajit Mishra

No RP2005-34, WIDER Working Paper Series from World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER)

Abstract: This paper presents a simple model to show how distributional concerns can engender social conflict. We have a two period model, where the cost of conflict is endogenous in the sense that parties involved have full control over how much conflict they can create. We find that anticipated future inequality plays a crucial role in determining the level of conflict in the current period. The model also provides an explanation for why similar levels of inequality may exhibit drastically different levels of conflict.

Keywords: Equality and inequality; Game theory; Income distribution; Social conflict; Wealth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Does Inequality lead to Conflict? (2010)
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