Who Wants What?: Redistribution Preferences in Comparative Perspective (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics)

Why do some people support redistributive policies such as a generous welfare state, social policy or protections for the poor, and others do not? The (often implicit) model behind much of comparative politics and political economy starts with redistribution preferences. These affect how individuals behave politically and their behavior in turn affects the strategies of political parties and the policies of governments. This book challenges some influential interpretations of the political consequences of inequality. Rueda and Stegmueller provide a novel explanation of how the demand for redistribution is the result of expected future income, the negative externalities of inequality, and the relationship between altruism and population heterogeneity. This innovative and timely volume will be of great interest to readers interested in the political causes and consequences of inequality.

David Rueda is Professor of Comparative Politics at the Department of Politics and International Relations and Professorial Fellow at Nuffield College, University of Oxford. He is the author of Social Democracy Inside Out (2007) and has received numerous research awards, including a British Academy Research Development Award (2008–10). He has held visiting positions at the Centre d'Études Européennes (Sciences Po, Paris), Yale University, Princeton University and Stanford University.

Daniel Stegmueller is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Duke University, North Carolina. He is also a Fellow at Nuffield College, University of Oxford. His research has appeared in the Annual Review of Political Science, American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, Political Analysis, Public Opinion Quarterly, and the Quarterly Journal of Political Science.