why is there no social democracy in America?

[Mina Kumar]

>From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com>
>Reply-To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
>To: lbo-talk <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com>
>Subject: why is there no social democracy in America?
>Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2001 16:00:47 -0400
>
><http://papers.nber.org/papers/W8524>
>
>Why Doesn't the US Have a European-Style Welfare System?
>Alberto Alesina, Edward Glaeser, Bruce Sacerdote
>
>
>NBER Working Paper No. W8524
>Issued in October 2001
>
>European countries are much more generous to the poor relative to the
>US level of generosity. Economic models suggest that redistribution
>is a function of the variance and skewness of the pre-tax income
>distribution, the volatility of income (perhaps because of trade
>shocks), the social costs of taxation and the expected income
>mobility of the median voter. None of these factors appear to explain
>the differences between the US and Europe. Instead, the differences
>appear to be the result of racial heterogeneity in the US and
>American political institutions. Racial animosity in the US makes
>redistribution to the poor, who are disproportionately black,
>unappealing to many voters.

Didn't everyone already know this!

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