Origins of new political cleavages : education, incomes, and values

Author / Creator

Besley, Timothy, author

Available as

Online

Summary

This paper puts forward a model to explore the static and dynamic consequences of new policy cleavages which cut across the traditional left-to-right, class-based divide. We study the interplay bet...

This paper puts forward a model to explore the static and dynamic consequences of new policy cleavages which cut across the traditional left-to-right, class-based divide. We study the interplay between the political equilibrium, policy cleavages, and the incentives to invest in human capital -- in the process bringing some important ideas from political sociology into political economics. Our formalized framework casts new light on debates about the policy consequences of economic, cultural and political shocks, many of which have been empirically explored in recent economics and politics research.

Show More