‘They Take Our Houses’: Benefit Competition and the Erosion of Support for Immigrants' Social Rights

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Gerda Hooijer
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Social Housing ◽  
Electoral Politics ◽  
Institutional Context ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich

Abstract Does benefit competition affect voters' support for immigrants' social rights? While scholars in political economy expect that benefit competition lowers support among the poor, the evidence is limited. This seems to be largely due to the reliance on highly aggregated analyses and the neglect of the institutional context in which individuals form their preferences. This article argues that lower-income voters are more likely to reduce their support due to competition when benefit eligibility depends on income. Using individual-level panel data from the Netherlands and a novel way to measure benefit competition, the study shows that lower-middle-income voters become less supportive of immigrants' social rights when more social housing in their municipality is allocated to refugees. By contrast, competition does not reduce support among the rich or the very poor. The findings suggest that benefit competition can erode support for immigrants' social rights and influence electoral politics.

The effects of debt restructurings on income inequality in the developing world

2021 ◽  
pp. 135406612110014
Author(s):  
Glen Biglaiser ◽  
Ronald J. McGauvran
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Government Spending ◽  
Tax Reform ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Impact

Developing countries, saddled with debts, often prefer investors absorb losses through debt restructurings. By not making full repayments, debtor governments could increase social spending, serving poorer constituents, and, in turn, lowering income inequality. Alternatively, debtor governments could reduce taxes and cut government spending, bolstering the assets of the rich at the expense of the poor. Using panel data for 71 developing countries from 1986 to 2016, we assess the effects of debt restructurings on societal income distribution. Specifically, we study the impact of debt restructurings on social spending, tax reform, and income inequality. We find that countries receiving debt restructurings tend to use their newly acquired economic flexibility to reduce taxes and lower social spending, worsening income inequality. The results are also robust to different model specifications. Our study contributes to the globalization and the poor debate, suggesting the economic harm caused to the less well-off following debt restructurings.

scholarly journals Understanding How Socioeconomic Inequalities Drive Inequalities In COVID-19 Infections

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachid Laajaj ◽  
Duncan Webb ◽  
Danilo Aristizabal ◽  
Eduardo Behrentz ◽  
Raquel Bernal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Process Model ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged ◽  
Infection Rates ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Disadvantaged Groups ◽  
The Poor

Abstract Background: Across the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected economically disadvantaged groups. This differential impact has numerous possible explanations, each with significantly different policy implications. We examine, for the first time in a low- or middle-income country, which mechanisms best explain the disproportionate impact of the virus on the poor. Methods: We use primary data from the CoVIDA project, including the results of 59,770 RT-PCR tests in Bogotá, targeted on a mostly asymptomatic adult population June 2020 to March 3rd, 2021. This is combined with administrative data that covers all reported cases in Bogotá. We estimate a number of parameters that are likely to drive inequality in COVID-19 infection rates across socioeconomic groups, then use these estimates in an individual-level branching process model of the epidemic. We use counterfactual scenarios to estimate the relative importance of different channels for explaining inequality in infection rates. Findings: Total infections and inequalities in infections are largely driven by inequalities in the ability to work remotely and in within-home secondary attack rates. Inequalities in isolation behavior are less important but non-negligible, while access to testing and contract-tracing plays practically no role. Interventions that mitigate transmission are found to be more effective when targeted on socioeconomically disadvantaged groups.Interpretation: Socioeconomically disadvantaged groups are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 infections, and this appears to be primarily driven by the need to work out of home, higher transmission within home, and to some extent, the ability to isolate when needed. Policies that can successfully reduce these channels of transmission among the poor are likely to have large benefits.

scholarly journals Externality Analysis of Community Forest Management

2009 ◽  
pp. 62-69
Author(s):  
Mahesh Raj Dahal
Keyword(s):  
Community Forest Management ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
Net Benefit ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Poor Households ◽  
Net Benefits ◽  
Forest Use ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Externality Analysis

This paper attempts to analyze the positive and negative externality effects of community forest management with the help of household level monetary value of benefits and costs derived from the sixteen community forest user groups of households in Arun River Valley. Monetary benefits of major types of forest products and total costs of forest use and management were calculated classifying into labour cost, transaction cost and membership fees to derive monetary estimation for the purpose of externality analysis. With the help of summary statistics of calculated gross benefits and costs including net benefits and the benefit-cost ratios (B/C) the externality effects of use and management of community forest were examined. The results of externality analysis shows that the poor income households are completely failed to internalize the benefit from CF as per the total gross cost per household incurred equivalent by negative net benefits (-4.0 percent). The middle income households are being able to internalize by equalize both of gross benefit (37.0 percent and the total gross cost (37.0 percent) from CF. The rich income households are being able to externalize the total gross cost on the poor income households to gain disproportionate net benefits (4.0) from CF. The benefit-cost ratios (B/C) for the poor (0.81 < 1), medium (1=1) and rich households (1.09 > 1) also have justified that the rich households are getting higher percentage of net benefits and paying less percentage of gross cost without providing any compensation to the poor households. The middle income households appeared in a position of no more gain nor more loss or zero net benefit. Since even a benefit loser, the poor households should take part in overall total gross cost of forest use, operation and management. Thus, the net externality effect of CF in terms of benefits accrued (positive externality) minus total gross cost incurred (negative externality) i.e. net benefit is negatively related to the poor income households and positively related to richer households in the study area. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ttp.v5i0.1955 The Third Pole, Vol. 5-7, PP 62-69:2007

scholarly journals The Structure of Inequality and the Politics of Redistribution

2011 ◽  
Vol 105 (2) ◽  
pp. 316-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
NOAM LUPU ◽  
JONAS PONTUSSON
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Lower Half ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
Present Survey ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Redistributive Policies ◽  
Preferences For Redistribution ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Advanced Capitalist

Against the current consensus among comparative political economists, we argue that inequality matters for redistributive politics in advanced capitalist societies, but it is the structure of inequality, not the level of inequality, that matters. Our theory posits that middle-income voters will be inclined to ally with low-income voters and support redistributive policies when the distance between the middle and the poor is small relative to the distance between the middle and the rich. We test this proposition with data from 15 to 18 advanced democracies and find that both redistribution and nonelderly social spending increase as the dispersion of earnings in the upper half of the distribution increases relative to the dispersion of earnings in the lower half of the distribution. In addition, we present survey evidence on preferences for redistribution among middle-income voters that is consistent with our theory and regression results indicating that left parties are more likely to participate in government when the structure of inequality is characterized by skew.

scholarly journals A Fragile Hold on Consumption: Consumption and the New Middle Class in Colombia

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Lina Martínez ◽  
John Rennie Short ◽  
Maria Isabel Zafra
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Population Survey ◽  
Basic Question ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Banking Services ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
The Poor ◽  
New Middle Class ◽  
Poor Population

This paper explores consumption patterns, access to banking services, attitudes to government and aspirations of the growing and vulnerable middle class in the global South. Data comes from a population survey conducted in 2016 in Cali, Colombia. We compare middle income and lower income populations in order to establish differences and similarities. We aim to answer a basic question. What are the patterns of consumption for this new middle class and how does it compare with lower income groups? Generally speaking, we find that despite the marked differences in income levels the middle class and the poor population share similar goals and attitudes and inhabit the same urban realm.

Does Lottery Advertising Exploit Disadvantaged and Vulnerable Markets?

2005 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary O. Borg ◽  
Harriet A. Stranahan
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Income Group ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Public ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
Middle Income Group ◽  
Low Income Groups

Abstract:Is it unethical to advertise lotteries? Many citizens think that states should not be actively promoting and encouraging the public to spend hard-earned dollars on a bet that they are virtually guaranteed to lose. Perhaps more importantly, business ethicists are concerned that lottery advertising may be targeting the most vulnerable markets: households with the lowest income and education levels. If this were true, then it would increase the already disproportionately large burden of lottery taxes on the poor. Fortunately, our research finds no evidence to support the contention that advertising is responsible for high rates of lottery participation and expenditures by lower income groups or that low-income groups are more affected by advertising than high-income groups. On the contrary, awareness of lottery advertising seems to be associated with a higher probability to play Lotto only for the middle income group. This means that lottery advertising may actually reduce the regressivity of lottery taxes.

The Party or the Purse? Unequal Representation in the US Senate

2019 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 917-940 ◽  
Author(s):  
JEFFREY R. LAX ◽  
JUSTIN H. PHILLIPS ◽  
ADAM ZELIZER
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Roll Call ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Us Senate ◽  
Do So

Recent work on US policymaking argues that responsiveness to public opinion is distorted by money, in that the preferences of the rich matter much more than those of lower-income Americans. A second distortion—partisan biases in responsiveness—has been less well studied and is often ignored or downplayed in the literature on affluent influence. We are the first to evaluate, in tandem, these two potential distortions in representation. We do so using 49 Senate roll-call votes from 2001 to 2015. We find that affluent influence is overstated and itself contingent on partisanship—party trumps the purse when senators have to take sides. The poor get what they want more often from Democrats. The rich get what they want more often from Republicans, but only if Republican constituents side with the rich. Thus, partisanship induces, shapes, and constrains affluent influence.

Socioeconomic Differences in Smoking and Cessation Across a Period of Rapid Economic Growth in an Upper-Middle-Income Country

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 1539-1546
Author(s):  
Jeevitha Mariapun ◽  
Noran N Hairi ◽  
Chiu-Wan Ng
Keyword(s):  
Smoking Prevalence ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Middle Income Country ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Socioeconomic Gradient ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Increasing Trend ◽  
Former Smokers ◽  
The Rich

Abstract Introduction Higher smoking rates and lower cessation rates among the poor compared to the rich are evident in high-income countries. In low and middle-income countries (LMICs), many of which are in the early stages of tackling the tobacco epidemic, more knowledge is required of the socioeconomic inequalities in smoking. This is especially the case for upper-middle-income countries, where smoking prevalence is highest. This study examines trends in the socioeconomic gradient in smoking and cessation among adults across a period of rapid economic development in Malaysia, an LMIC with an upper-middle-income economy. Methods The socioeconomic trends in smoking were analyzed using data from cross-sectional National Health and Morbidity Surveys for the years 1996, 2006, and 2011. Household per capita income was used as a measure of socioeconomic position. As a measure of inequality, the concentration index that quantified the degree of socioeconomic inequality in a health outcome was computed. Smoking was assessed in current and former smokers. The study population was examined by gender, region, and age group. Results This study found a trend of an increasingly higher smoking prevalence among the poor and higher cessation rates among the rich. With the exception of younger women in Peninsular Malaysia, the socioeconomic gradient in current smoking is concentrated among the poor. For former smokers, especially men, distributions across the years were mostly concentrated among the rich. Conclusion It is important to ensure that health policies, programs, and interventions consider the potential impact of the socioeconomic patterning in smoking on equity in health. Implications Findings on the socioeconomic gradient in smoking and cessation from Malaysia across a period of rapid economic development will contribute to addressing the paucity of knowledge on the socioeconomic gradient of smoking and cessation in other progressing LMICs. This study provides evidence from an upper-middle-income country, of an increasing trend of smoking among the poor and an increasing trend of cessation rates among the rich, particularly for men. We found opposing trends for younger adult women in the more developed, Peninsular Malaysia. More rich young women were found to have taken up smoking compared to socioeconomically less advantaged young women.

scholarly journals CAN THE “TAX THE RICH, SUBSIDISE THE POOR” POLICY IMPROVE FINANCIAL SATISFACTION AMONG MALAYSIANS?

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling-Meng Chan ◽  
Chia-Guan Keh ◽  
Siu-Eng Tang ◽  
Yan-Teng Tan ◽  
Ying-Yin Koay
Keyword(s):  
Financial Satisfaction ◽  
World Value Survey ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Country Level ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Redistribution Policy ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

“Tax the rich, subsidise the poor” is deemed one of the typical finance characteristics of democracy and a solution in reducing income inequality. The Malaysian government has also adopted this strategy in its income redistribution policy. Evidently, this strategy can minimise the income gaps at the country level. However, it is doubtful if it can be effectively done at the individual level. The rich have to pay more while the poor can enjoy the ‘free’ income. Would that lead to financial satisfaction? Hence, the main objective of this study was to investigate the impact of individual perceptions on the government’s democratic act in implementing "tax the rich, subsidise the poor" policy for financial satisfaction among Malaysians. For an empirical analysis, this paper discusses the study conducted which used the sixth wave of the World Value Survey (WVS) data with 1290 respondents and is regressed by the ordered logit and ordered probit modelling. The results indicated that the democratic act of ‘taxing the rich and subsidising the poor’ in reality reduces financial satisfaction among Malaysians. In contrast, these same Malaysians wish for a larger income difference as an incentive for individual efforts. In view of this, the government and policy makers should make revisions to the current progressive taxation system or look for other alternative taxation systems which may be seen as fairer and can improve financial satisfaction among Malaysians at each income level.

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