Income Shocks, Inequality, and Democracy*
研究收入冲击（相对于趋势的大幅波动）而非小幅年度变化如何影响政治制度质量，发现收入不平等在其中起关键作用：高不平等国家中负面收入冲击反而促进民主，反之亦然。
Abstract In this paper, motivated by contradictory evidence on the effect of income on democracy, we investigate the hypothesis that it is income shocks – major income fluctuations relative to the trend – rather than marginal year‐on‐year variation in income levels that lead to non‐trivial changes in the quality of political institutions. Empirical results provide support for this hypothesis, and show how income inequality plays a crucial role in the effects of economic shocks on democracy. In particular, negative income shocks reveal a positive effect on democracy in countries with high inequality, and vice versa.