Turning out for redistribution
The effect of voter turnout on top marginal tax rates
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10931920 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Navid Sabet (0000-0002-4811-8310, Goethe University Frankfurt, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 194 |
| Issue | 3-4 |
| Pages | 347-367 |
| Publication date | 2023-03-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Public Choice (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0048-5829 • E-ISSN: 1573-7101 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11127-022-01036-7 |
| OpenAlex | W4316042179 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 20 |
I investigate the impact of voter turnout on top marginal tax rates in OECD countries between 1974 and 2013. I find that higher turnout leads to higher taxes for top earners, a result broadly consistent with the median voter theorem. Using novel survey data, I confirm that individuals in all but the wealthiest income bracket prefer higher taxes on the rich more than they prefer greater government spending in the economy. In line with these preferences, I find that turnout has a significantly negative effect on top income shares but no effect on the size of government or on public welfare expenditure. An instrumental variables approach confirms my findings. Overall, the paper is the first of its kind to link turnout to measures of redistribution that affect top earners and to preferences for redistribution
Demographic economics · Econometrics · Economics · Government (linguistics · Government spending · Instrumental variable · Labour economics · Macroeconomics · Monetary economics · Political science · Public finance · Redistribution (election · Survey data collection · Tax rate · Turnout · Voter turnout · Voting · Welfare · Corporate Taxation and Avoidance · Fiscal Policies and Political Economy · Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth
Macroeconomic Policies of Developed Democracies
Do Voters Affect or Elect Policies? Evidence from the U. S. House
Voting to Tell Others
An economic theory of democracy
Intergenerational Mobility and Preferences for Redistribution
Why Do People Vote? A Psychological Analysis of the Causes of Voter Turnout
A Rational Theory of the Size of Government
What Limits Social Spending
Stability in Competition
Political effects of low turnout in national and European elections
Wealth and Voter Turnout
Voting over Redistribution and the Size of the Welfare State
Does Median Voter Income Matter? The Effects of Inequality and Turnout on Government Spending
Electoral Turnout and State Redistribution
Rising Inequality and the Politics of Redistribution in Affluent Countries
Electoral turnout and income redistribution by the state
Turnout and the Vote for Left-of-Centre Parties
Politics, Institutions, and Welfare Spending in Industrialized Democracies, 1960-82
Unequal Participation
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Highly cited | No |