Divide and Deal: The Politics of Distribution in Democracies

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Table of Contents: Introduction / Ian Shapiro, Peter A. Swenson, Daniela Donno -- Part I. Institutions -- 1. Welfare Regimes and Redistribution in the South / Jeremy Seekings -- 2. Distributional Conflicts in Mature Welfare States / Isabela Mares -- 3. The Politics of Tax Structure / Steffen Ganghof -- 4. AIDS, Inequality, and Access to Antiretroviral Treatment / Nicoli Nattrass -- 5. Distributive Politics and Formal Institutions in New Democracies: The Effect of Electoral Rules on Budget Voting in the Russian State Duma, 1994-2003 / Jana Kunicova -- Part II. Individuals -- 6. Religion and Social Insurance: Evidence from the United States, 1970-2002 / Kenneth Scheve, David Stasavage -- 7. Moral Values and Distributive Politics: An Equilibrium Analysis of the 2004 U. S. Election / Woojin Lee, John Roemer -- 8. Giving the People What They Want? Age, Class, and Distribution in the United States / Christopher Howard -- Part III. Coalitions -- 9. Good Distribution, Bad Delivery, and Ugly Politics: The Traumatic Beginnings of Germany's Health Care System / Peter A. Swenson -- 10. Democracy and Distributive Politics in India / Pranab Bardhan -- 11. The Political Uses of Public Opinion: Lessons from the Estate Tax Repeal / Mayling Birney, Ian Shapiro, Michael J. Graetz -- About the Contributors -- Index. Biographical Note: Ian Shapiro is Sterling Professor of Political Science at Yale University, where he also serves as Henry R. Luce Director of the Yale Center for International and Area Studies. He is the editor or author of numerous books, most recently "Political Contingency" (NYU Press) and "Rethinking Political Institutions" (NYU Press). Publisher Marketing: Why are democracies so unequal? Despite the widespread expectation that democracy, via expansion of the franchise, would lead to redistribution in favor of the masses, in reality majorities regularly lose out in democracies. Taking a broad view of inequality as encompassing the distribution of wealth, risk, status, and well-being, this volume explores how institutions, individuals, and coalitions contribute to the often surprising twists and turns of distributive politics. The contributors hail from a range of disciplines and employ an array of methodologies to illuminate the central questions of democratic distributive politics: What explains the variety of welfare state systems, and what are their prospects for survival and change? How do religious beliefs influence people's demand for redistribution? When does redistributive politics reflect public opinion? How can different and seemingly opposed groups successfully coalesce to push through policy changes that produce new winners and losers?The authors identify a variety of psychological and institutional factors that influence distributive outcomes. Taken together, the chapters highlight a common theme: politics matters. In seeking to understand the often puzzling contours of distribution and redistribution, we cannot ignore the processes of competition, bargaining, building, and destroying the political alliances that serve as bridges between individual preferences, institutions, and policy outcomes. Review Citations:

Chronicle of Higher Education 08/15/2008 pg. 17 (EAN 9780814740583, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Shapiro, Ian Ian Shapiro is Sterling Professor of Political Science at Yale University, where he also serves as Henry R. Luce Director of the Yale Center for International and Area Studies. He is the editor or author of numerous books, most recently "Political Contingency" (NYU Press) and "Rethinking Political Institutions" (NYU Press). Contributor Bio:  Swenson, Peter Peter Swenson is Saden Professor of Political Science at Yale University. Contributor Bio:  Donno, Daniela Daniela Donno is assistant professor of political science at the University of Pittsburgh.