The Political Effects of Inequality in Latin America: Some Inconvenient Facts

Recent books by Carles Boix and by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson provide bold theoretical arguments about how economic inequality can undermine the survival of democracy. Many of their key assumptions, however, are called into question by existing research on "third wave" Latin American democracies. There is little evidence that the poor are more likely to vote for higher taxes or for left parties, and survey research does not indicate that poor people are more likely to think the distribution of income is unfair. More sustained examination of American democracy by Larry M. Bartels reaches parallel conclusions. A more careful examination of political economy assumptions about the relationship between actors' objective economic circumstances and their perceived interests and behavior is needed.