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Politicians, Policies, and the Reproduction of Wealth

The literature on top incomes has shown that public policies are crucial for the development of these incomes. Research on political inequality suggests that policies reflect the preferences of wealthy citizens better than those of the poorer population. In this project, we investigate the role of politician characteristics in the development of government policies that might systematically favour wealthy citizens. To what extent do social and economic politician coincide with those of economic elites? How does this affect policy-making? What are the consequences for the incomes of the wealthy?

Duration: 2023-2027
Funder: Volkswagen Foundation
Coordination: Prof. Dr. Miquel Pellicer, Prof. Dr. Eva Wegner
Partners: Despina Alexiadou (Strathclyde University, UK), Raquel Pimenta (Fundação Getulio Vargas, Brazil), and Vimal Ranchhod (University of Cape Town, South Africa)
Marburg Team: Miquel Pellicer, Eva Wegner and Leticia Barbabela