Income Taxation and the Diversity of Consumer Goods: A Political Economy Approach*
研究了消费品多样性增加如何缓解对再分配的政治压力，通过概率投票模型和OECD国家数据发现，多样性上升会降低政治均衡税率。
Abstract After‐tax income inequality has risen since the mid‐1990s, as increases in market income inequality have not been offset by greater fiscal redistribution. We argue that the substantial increase in the diversity of consumer goods has mitigated mounting political pressures for redistribution. Within a probabilistic voting framework, we demonstrate that if the share of diversified goods in the consumption bundle increases sufficiently with income, then an increase in goods diversity can reduce the political equilibrium tax rate. Focusing on OECD countries, we find empirical support for both the model's micro‐political foundations and the implied relation between goods diversity and fiscal policy outcomes.