Economic Recessions and Congressional Preferences for Redistribution

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Carreri, Maria; Teso, Edoardo
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California San Diego; Northwestern University
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01053
• 发表日期: 2023-05
• 页码: 723-732
• 关键词: members; voters

摘要

We study if U.S. members of Congress who experienced an economic recession during early adulthood vote differently on redistribution-specific bills. We find that politicians who experienced a recession hold more conservative positions on redistribution, even compared to members of the same party. In light of recent empirical evidence showing that voters become more supportive of redistribution following a recession, our findings suggest that macroeconomic shocks might have a polarizing effect: recessions can create an ideological wedge between voters and their future representatives. We hypothesize and present evidence suggesting that this wedge might be explained by politicians' more privileged background.