2009/04/28 by Moses Shayo · 970 citations
Social Sciences · #Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies #Social and Cultural Dynamics #Culture, Economy, and Development Studies #Redistribution (election) #Redistribution of income and wealth #Politics #Social identity theory #Social class #National identity #Political economy #Inequality #Political science #Positive economics #Economics #Sociology #Social group #Social science #Economic growth #Law #Unemployment
paper · doi:10.1017/s0003055409090194
published in American Political Science Review 103(2), 147-174 (Cambridge University Press)
openalex publication_date 2009/04/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
This article develops a model for analyzing social identity and applies it to the political economy of income redistribution, focusing on class and national identities. The model attempts to distill major findings in social psychology into a parsimonious statement of what it means to identify with a group and what factors determine the groups with whom people identify. It then proposes an equilibrium concept where both identities and behavior are endogenously determined. Applying this model to redistribution helps explain three empirical patterns in modern democracies. First, national identification is more common among the poor than among the rich. Second, national identification tends to reduce support for redistribution. Third, across democracies there is a strong negative relationship between the prevalence of national identification and the level of redistribution. The model further points to national eminence, national threats, and diversity within the lower class as factors that can reduce redistribution.