Social divisions, party support, and the changes in the Thai party system since 2001

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 214-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai-Ping Huang ◽  
Stithorn Thananithichot
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Party System ◽  
Charismatic Leader ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Socioeconomic Characteristics ◽  
Social Divisions ◽  
Electoral Outcomes ◽  
Party Support ◽  
Unequal Income Distribution

This article investigates the interactions of socioeconomic characteristics and electoral outcomes at the constituency level to demonstrate the change in the Thai party system since 2001. Probing the effects of the agricultural population and income inequality on electoral outcomes in the proportional representation (PR) tier, this article finds that the Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT) and the Democrat Party (DP) attracted voters with opposite social standings. While voters residing in the provinces with substantial agrarian populations tended to vote more for the TRT than the DP, constituencies with highly unequal income distribution were more likely to be DP supporters. The findings provide evidence against alternative explanations, including regionalism and support for a charismatic leader, for the TRT’s consecutive victories. Due to the convergence between social divisions and party support, the Thai party system has become stable and strong enough to resist short-term interventions, implying that the future electoral outcomes will likely be similar.

Federal and Subnational Elections in Russia: Coherence and Divergence in Electoral Outcomes

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-353
Author(s):  
Rostislav Turovsky ◽  
Marina Sukhova
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Strong Connection ◽  
Regional Parties ◽  
Electoral Outcomes ◽  
Electoral Authoritarianism ◽  
Subnational Elections ◽  
Effective Number Of Parties ◽  
Number Of Parties ◽  
Regional Elections

Abstract This article examines the differences between Russian voting at federal elections and regional legislature elections, both combined and conducted independently. The authors analyse these differences, their character and their dynamics as an important characteristic of the nationalisation of the party system. They also test hypotheses about a higher level of oppositional voting and competitiveness in subnational elections, in accordance with the theory of second-order elections, as well as the strategic nature of voting at federal elections, by contrast with expressive voting during subnational campaigns. The empirical study is based on calculating the differences in votes for leading Russian parties at subnational elections and at federal elections (simultaneous, preceding and following) from 2003, when mandatory voting on party lists was widespread among the regions, to 2019. The level of competitiveness is measured in a similar way, by calculating the effective number of parties. The study indicates a low level of autonomy of regional party systems, in many ways caused by the fact that the law made it impossible to create regional parties, and then also by the 2005 ban on creation of regional blocs. The strong connection between federal and regional elections in Russia clearly underlines the fluid and asynchronic nature of its electoral dynamics, where subnational elections typically predetermine the results of the following federal campaigns. At the same time, the formal success of the nationalisation of the party system, achieved by increasing the homogeneity of voting at the 2016 and 2018 federal elections, is not reflected by the opposing process of desynchronisation between federal and regional elections after Putin’s third-term election. There is also a clear rise in the scale of the differences between the two. At the same time, the study demonstrates the potential presence in Russia of features common to subnational elections in many countries: their greater support for the opposition and presence of affective voting. However, there is a clear exception to this trend during the period of maximum mobilisation of the loyal electorate at the subnational elections immediately following the accession of Crimea in 2014–2015, and such tendencies are generally restrained by the conditions of electoral authoritarianism.

Conclusion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D. Kenny
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Research ◽  
Party System ◽  
Institutional Reform ◽  
System Change ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Institutional Reforms

This final chapter draws out the two main conclusions from the book. First, it discusses the policy implications of its findings. It suggests caution in the decentralization of political authority as a remedy for democratic underperformance in patronage-based democracies. Rather than making government more accountable, it may instead exacerbate principal–agent conflicts between center and periphery. More important than decentralization in the short term may be institutional reforms at the center that make parties more programmatic and responsive to citizens. Second, it sets out some of the implications of the book’s findings for the study of populism and party-system change more generally. It shows that the varied ways in which voters and parties are linked creates different pathways to the decline of establishment parties and the success of populist alternatives. Further comparative research across party systems might contribute positively to institutional reform and political change.

Philanthropy and Income Inequality

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Anderson ◽  
Ing-Haw Cheng ◽  
Harrison Hong
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Tax Policies ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Alternative Models ◽  
Tax Relief ◽  
Bill Gates ◽  
Welfare Implications ◽  
Tax Cuts

Bill Gates recently argued that philanthropy by households at the top of the income distribution might help ameliorate income inequality, and that tax policies should take this into account. Much of the research in economics on giving has been focused on middle-income households, so we know very little about the motives for giving by the very rich. We provide some initial evidence on what drives the giving of the richest Americans. First, we extrapolate anthropological evidence on how status concerns might influence philanthropy. Second, since the richest own a significant amount of equity, we use the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Act of 2003 to see how their giving responded to unanticipated tax cuts, particularly for dividends. Third, we consider the welfare implications of philanthropy as opposed to alternative models for redistributing the wealth of the extremely rich.

scholarly journals Income Distribution and Trade Pattern

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Sugata Marjit ◽  
Reza Oladi ◽  
Punarjit Roychowdhury
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Behavioral Economics ◽  
Trade Pattern ◽  
Industry Trade

AbstractMotivated by recent insights from behavioral economics and social psychology, we present a theory of trade that seeks to explain inter-industry trade between countries that are similar in their production sides, but differ in their income distribution. By assuming status-dependent preferences that are non-homothetic, we show that income inequality differential can be a basis for inter-industry trade between otherwise similar economies.

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.

The Democratic and Republican Governors Associations and the Nationalization of American Party Politics, 1961–1968

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Anthony Sparacino
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
State Level ◽  
Partisan Politics ◽  
State Governments ◽  
National Party ◽  
Government Programs ◽  
Party Organizations ◽  
Party Building ◽  
Electoral Outcomes ◽  
American Party

Abstract This article examines the origins and early activities of the Democratic and Republican Governors Associations (DGA and RGA, respectively) from the RGA's initial founding in 1961 through the 1968 national nominating conventions. I argue that the formations of these organizations were key moments in the transition from a decentralized to a more integrated and nationally programmatic party system. The DGA and RGA represent gubernatorial concern for and engagement in the development of national party programs and the national party organizations. Governors formed these groups because of the increasing importance of national government programs on the affairs of state governments and the recognition on the part of governors that national partisan politics was having critical effects on electoral outcomes at the state level, through the reputations of the national parties. To varying extents, the governors used these organizations to promote the national parties and contributed to national party-building efforts and the development of national party brands.

scholarly journals Market Imperfections and Income Distribution

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 1147-1167
Author(s):  
Ensar Yılmaz
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Wage Rate ◽  
Consumption Patterns ◽  
Market Imperfections ◽  
Luxury Goods ◽  
Sector Model ◽  
Two Sectors

Abstract This paper aims to search links between market imperfections and functional income distribution. For this purpose we construct a two-sector model – wage goods and luxury goods producing sectors – incorporating imperfections of the product and labor markets under income inequality. In a structure with interdependent and partially monopolistic and competitive markets, we analytically trace up the effects of the changes in power relations proxied by the degree of mark-ups in the product and labor market. The model shows that price and wage mark-ups in two sectors have crucial income distribution implications for the agents in the economy to varying extents. It also demonstrates the effect of the existence of the differentiated consumption patterns arising from income inequality on income distribution. Furthermore, it seems that unemployment level creates externalities on wage rate and on corporate taxes of firms.

Institutions, Models of Capitalism and Inequality in Income Distribution: An Empirical Investigation

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 651-685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilberto Antonelli ◽  
Pinuccia P Calia ◽  
Giovanni Guidetti
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Econometric Evidence ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Empirical Analysis ◽  
Statistical Indicators ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract The article analyses the role of institutions in the determination of income inequality in a sample of OECD countries. Basing on the seminal approach by Amable, the article discusses the theoretical definition of model of capitalism. The basic idea is that each model of capitalism is defined by the cobweb of complementary relationships established among different institutions. Using a set of statistical indicators of the operation of institutions in two different years, 1995 and 2010, the empirical analysis points out five models of capitalism and exhibits how their composition has changed in this lapse of 15 years. In the following sections of the article, we investigate the role played by the model of capitalism in the determination of income distribution, measured through a standard Gini index. After controlling for a set of variables, the econometric evidence shows that different models of capitalism present significantly different levels of income inequality.

scholarly journals Economic Growth and Income Inequality in Developing Countries

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 79-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morteza Nemati ◽  
Ghasem Raisi
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Economic System ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Poverty Eradication ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Selection Of

Nowadays, improvement in income distribution and poverty eradication and hence low inequality are served as the main objectives of economic and social development strategy even prior than primary tasks of governments. to manifest importance of income distribution, some economists adopt income inequality and income distribution in society as criteria for economic system of the community, although these criteria and measures are theoretical for the economic system and this varies from the perspective of different people, however, it denotes on  importance of income distribution among individuals. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of economic growth on income inequality in the selection of low-income developing countries.To this end, using panel data and data for 28 developing countries over the period 1990-2010 the relationship between GDP and the Gini coefficient was examined. The results indicate that as per hypothesis Kuznets in the early stages of growth, income inequality increases and then it declines in later stage.

Impact of Candidate Selection Systems on Election Results: Evidence from Taiwan before and after the Change in Electoral Systems

2013 ◽  
Vol 213 ◽  
pp. 152-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dafydd Fell
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Candidate Selection ◽  
Campaign Strategies ◽  
Policy Positions ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Electoral Outcomes ◽  
Extensive Coverage ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Election Results

AbstractA central challenge for scholars of party politics is to explain parties' electoral success or failure. Campaign strategies, candidate personalities, electoral systems, parties' issue emphasis and policy positions all receive extensive coverage in the literature. One variable that has been neglected is the role of nomination systems in election results. This is surprising considering how politicians often blame candidate selection failures for disappointing electoral outcomes and then reform nomination mechanisms in the hope of improving future election prospects. In this study I examine the relationship between nomination systems and electoral results in Taiwan before and after the change in electoral systems. I show that candidate selection methods have played an important role in shaping Taiwan's party system under the old and new electoral systems.

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