Politics of Income Inequality

“[As] early as the beginning of the twentieth century, human equality had become technically possible.… In earlier ages, class distinctions had been not only inevitable but desirable. Inequality was the price of civilization. With the development of machine production, however, the case was altered. Even if it was still necessary for human beings to do different kinds of work, it was no longer necessary for them to live at different social or economic levels.”

George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four

My first key research area lies in the politics of income inequality and redistribution. Based on the somewhat surprising observation that democracy should, yet does not always, reduce inequality, I am particularly interested in how, and under what circumstances, do democracy and democratization affect redistribution.

2017. “Median Voter and Power Resources Revisited: A Composite Model of Inequality.” European Political Science Review

2017. “Public Spending, Corruption, and Income Inequality: A Comparative Analysis of Asia and Latin America.” International Political Science Review

2017. “Legislature Size and Inequality: Democratic Participation and Authoritarian Dilution.” Political Science

2016. “Democratic Persistence and Inequality: The Role of Foreign Direct Investments.” Studies in Comparative International Development

While the above studies have a broader and often global application, I also study welfare states and preferences for redistribution in East Asia and Hong Kong.

2020. "Welfare or Politics? A Survey Experiment of Political Discontent and Support for Redistribution in Hong Kong." Politics

2017. “Helping the Rich get Richer: A Re-assessment of the Income Distributional Trend in Hong Kong.” Asian Studies Review

2016. “Globalization, Spending and Income Inequality in Asia Pacific.” Journal of Comparative Asian Development

2014. “The Politics of the Minimum Wage in Hong Kong.” Journal of Contemporary Asia

Photo credit: Aleksandar Pasaric (Pexels)