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Politicians, Policies, and the Reproduction of Wealth

The literature on top incomes has shown that public policies play a crucial role in their development. Research on political inequality suggests that policies tend to reflect the preferences of wealthy citizens more than those of poorer citizens. We investigate the role of politicians’ characteristics in the development of government policies that might systematically favour wealthy citizens. To what extent do politicians' social and economic views coincide with those of economic elites? How does this affect policymaking? What consequences does this have for the incomes of the wealthy?

The project is coordinated by Marburg University with partners Dr. Despina Alexiadou (Strathclyde University, UK), Dr. Raquel Pimenta (Fundação Getulio Vargas, Brazil), and Prof. Dr. Vimal Ranchhod (University of Cape Town, South Africa).

Duration: 2023-2027
Funder: Volkswagen Foundation
Coordination: Prof. Dr. Miquel Pellicer, Prof. Dr. Eva Wegner
Marburg Team: Prof. Dr. Eva Wegner, Prof. Dr. Miquel Pellicer, Dr. Letícia Barbabela