Regressive Socioeconomic Distribution and Democratic Survival

Many scholars have argued that unequal socioeconomic distribution constitutes a threat to democratic survival. However, the evidence in support of this claim has been contradictory. We argue that this inconsistency derives from the literature's assumption that income inequality will adequately...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International studies quarterly 2007-09, Vol.51 (3), p.677-699
Main Authors: Reenock, Christopher, Bernhard, Michael, Sobek, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Basic needs
Calories
Datasets
Democracy
Deprivation
Distribution
Economic development
Economic resources
Food supply
Gross domestic product
Income Distribution
Income Inequality
Longitudinal studies
Social Class
Socioeconomic factors
Socioeconomics
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Summary:Many scholars have argued that unequal socioeconomic distribution constitutes a threat to democratic survival. However, the evidence in support of this claim has been contradictory. We argue that this inconsistency derives from the literature's assumption that income inequality will adequately reflect the conditions under which demands for radical redistribution will emerge and trigger antidemocratic elite reactions. We argue instead that when developmental context is taken into consideration, absolute forms of distribution, like basic needs deprivation, are better indicators of these conditions. When needs deprivation exists in the face of enhanced economic development, citizens will not only notice deprivation more readily, but also, given the greater social surplus, deem it more unacceptable, provoking radical demands for redistributive justice. This combination of development and continuing basic needs shortfalls, a condition that we refer to as regressive socioeconomic distribution, will threaten democratic survival. Using event history analysis on a sample composed of all democracies from 1961 to 1995, we confirm that regressive socioeconomic distribution increases the risk of breakdown.
ISSN:0020-8833
1468-2478
DOI:10.1111/j.1468-2478.2007.00469.x