Abstract
This study reviews the relationship between democracy, development, and inequality, particularly the link between electoral competition and the provision of inequality-reducing policies at different stages of development. I argue that local government tools that help reduce income inequality may be underprovided due to the electoral risks faced by the local incumbents. The literature on clientelism and patronage together with the literature on the political budget cycle offers theoretical insights that explain why the opportunistic behavior of the incumbents depends on the development level of the polity. And while it is commonly assumed that specific types of expenditure are prone to manipulation, I challenge this view by showing how the socioeconomic characteristics of the locality influence the incumbents’ decision to strategically provide inequality-reducing policies.
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