Description
Book SynopsisOffers an introduction to the latest research on political inequality and its relationship to economic inequalities in North America and Western Europe. Explores why economic inequality has risen in all affluent democracies, yet governments have done little to compensate low- and middle-income citizens.
Trade Review'Why have advanced democracies so broadly failed to address the growth of economic inequality? This rich volume brings together a wide range of leading scholars to explore the roles of citizens, elites, government policymakers, and the mass media. This is a vital contribution at a time when many citizens are disillusioned with their governments and, perhaps, with democracy itself.' Martin Gilens, University of California, Los Angeles
'Based on cutting-edge research by the leading experts in the field, this book tackles the important political puzzle: why did the redistributive efforts of many governments decline over recent decades even as income inequality increased? Its wide-ranging and illuminating essays will be of interest to everyone concerned about issues of inequality.' Peter A. Hall, Harvard University
'Why don't democratic governments respond to what their citizens want? Unequal Democracies fills a massive lacuna in the literature with nuanced answers and sophisticated analyses of cross-national evidence. By distinguishing opinions, preferences, and interests and then considering how they are formed and represented by institutions, the authors transform our understanding of how to promote more equitable policies and polities.' Margaret Levi, Stanford University
'This volume offers a set of crucial contributions to our understanding of the political consequences of rising inequality. The editors have put together a truly impressive group of scholars who provide state-of-the-art analysis of the political puzzles linking unequal economies to unequal democracies. A must-read for students of comparative politics.' David Rueda, University of Oxford
Table of Contents1. The political puzzle of rising inequality Noam Lupu and Jonas Pontusson; Part I. Government Responsiveness: 2. Unequal responsiveness and government partisanship in Northwest Europe Ruben Berge Mathisen, Wouter Schakel, Svenja Hense, Lea Elsässer, Mikael Persson and Jonas Pontusson; 3. Democracy, class interests, and redistribution: what do the data say? Mads Andreas Elkjær and Torben Iversen; 4. Measuring political inequality Larry M. Bartels; 5. Why so little sectionalism in the contemporary United States? The under-representation of place-based economic interests Jacob S. Hacker, Paul Pierson and Sam Zacher; Part II. Political Inequality and Representation: 6. On the mechanisms behind unequal representation in legislatures Michael Becher and Daniel Stegmueller; 7. How do the educated govern? Evidence from Spanish mayors Marta Curto-Grau and Aina Gallego; 8. Working-class officeholding in the OECD Nicholas Carnes and Noam Lupu; 9. Political participation and unequal representation: Addressing the endogeneity problem Ruben Berge Mathisen and Yvette Peters; Part III. Voters and Demand for Redistribution: 10. Fairness reasoning and demand for redistribution Charlotte Cavaillé; 11. The news media and the politics of inequality in advanced democracies J Scott Matthews, Timothy Hicks and Alan M. Jacobs; 12. Deflecting from racism: local talk radio conversations about the murder of George Floyd Katherine J. Cramer; 13. Class and social policy representation Macarena Ares and Silja Häusermann; Bibliography; Index.
