Did democracy bring redistribution? Insights from the Spanish tax system, 1960-90

The relationship between democracy, inequality, and redistribution has inspired extensive research, but consensus is still elusive. In order to contribute to this discussion, the author analyzes the Spanish case, where transition to democracy was accompanied by a comprehensive tax reform, aiming at...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Torregrosa Hetland, Sara
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2015
País:España
Institución:Universidad Pública de Navarra
Repositorio:Academica-e. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Pública de Navarra
OAI Identifier:oai:academica-e.unavarra.es:2454/47394
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2454/47394
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Tax system
Progressivity
Redistribution
Income inequality
Democratization
Descripción
Sumario:The relationship between democracy, inequality, and redistribution has inspired extensive research, but consensus is still elusive. In order to contribute to this discussion, the author analyzes the Spanish case, where transition to democracy was accompanied by a comprehensive tax reform, aiming at increasing progressivity and revenue. But how effectively did it change the distribution of the tax burden? Was there a “fiscal revolution”? The results show that persistent regressivity (albeit decreasing) exacerbated income inequality, failing to attain convergence with more developed countries. The joint effect of the fiscal system, however, was slightly positive due to progressive social spending.