My thesis contains essays on voting theory, market structures and fiscal federalism: (i) One Person, Many Votes: Divided Majority and Information Aggregation, (ii) Runoff Elections and the Condorcet Loser, (iii) On the Influence of Rankings when Product Quality Depends on Buyer Characteristics, and (iv) Redistributing Income under Fiscal Vertical Imbalance.<p><p>(i) One Person, Many Votes: Divided Majority and Information Aggregation (joint with Micael Castanheira)<p>In elections, majority divisions pave the way to focal manipulations and coordination failures, which can lead to the victory of the wrong candidate. This paper shows how this flaw can be addressed if voter preferences over candidates are sensitive to information. We consider two potential sources of divisions: majority voters may have similar preferences but opposite information about the candidates, or opposite preferences. We show that when information is the source of majority divisions, Approval Voting features a unique equilibrium with full information and coordination equivalence. That is, it produces the same outcome as if both information and coordination problems could be resolved. Other electoral systems, such as Plurality and Two-Round elections, do not satisfy this equivalence. The second source of division is opposite preferences. Whenever the fraction of voters with such preferences is not too large, Approval Voting still satisfies full information and coordination equivalence.<p><p>(ii) Runoff Elections and the Condorcet Loser<p>A crucial component of Runoff electoral systems is the threshold fraction of votes above which a candidate wins outright in the first round. I analyze the influence of this threshold on the voting equilibria in three-candidate Runoff elections. I demonstrate the existence of an Ortega Effect which may unduly favor dominated candidates and thus lead to the election of the Condorcet Loser in equilibrium. The reason is that, contrarily to commonly held beliefs, lowering the threshold for first-round victory may actually induce voters to express their preferences excessively. I also extend Duverger's Law to Runoff elections with any threshold below, equal or above 50%. Therefore, Runoff elections are plagued with inferior equilibria that induce either too high or too low expression of preferences.<p><p>(iii) On the Influence of Rankings when Product Quality Depends on Buyer Characteristics<p>Information on product quality is crucial for buyers to make sound choices. For "experience products", this information is not available at the time of the purchase: it is only acquired through consumption. For much experience products, there exist institutions that provide buyers with information about quality. It is commonly believed that such institutions help consumers to make better choices and are thus welfare improving.<p>The quality of various experience products depends on the characteristics of buyers. For instance, conversely to the quality of cars, business school quality depends on buyers (i.e. students) characteristics. Indeed, one of the main inputs of a business school is enrolled students. The choice of buyers for such products has then some features of a coordination problem: ceteris paribus, a buyer prefers to buy a product consumed by buyers with "good" characteristics. This coordination dimension leads to inefficiencies when buyers coordinate on products of lower "intrinsic" quality. When the quality of products depends on buyer characteristics, information about product quality can reinforce such a coordination problem. Indeed, even though information of high quality need not mean high intrinsic quality, rational buyers pay attention to this information because they prefer high quality products, no matter the reason of the high quality. Information about product quality may then induce buyers to coordinate on products of low intrinsic quality.<p>In this paper, I show that, for experience products which quality depends on the characteristics of buyers, more information is not necessarily better. More precisely, I prove that more information about product quality may lead to a Pareto deterioration, i.e. all buyers may be worse off due.<p><p>(iv) Redistributing Income under Fiscal Vertical Imbalance (joint with Marjorie Gassner and Vincenzo Verardi)<p>From the literature on decentralization, it appears that the fiscal vertical imbalance (i.e. the dependence of subnational governments on national government revenues to support their expenditures) is somehow inherent to multi-level governments. Using a stylized model we show that this leads to a reduction of the extent of redistributive fiscal policies if the maximal size of government has been reached. To test for this empirically, we use some high quality data from the LIS dataset on individual incomes. The results are highly significant and point in the direction of our theoretical predictions.<p> / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The aim of this thesis is to show how the unconventional monetary policy rounds of Quantitative Easing introduced in the United States between 2008 and 2014 have led to an increase in wealth inequality. The need for the thesis arises due to the uncharted nature of QE and because of more and more information is surfacing to light which points to this connection. By analysing the distribution of these funds and adding it to the then base distribution of money supply, this study was able to determine a significant 10 % increase in the Gini Index. Furthermore it highlights how a large portion of wealth was transferred from the middle class over to the top 5 % income households. Starting from a set of assumptions the calculation is performed by extrapolating the data required and by isolating the system from any external variables. The result is a theoretical model meant to describe the mechanism that links Quantitative Easing to wealth inequality. Moreover a detailed comparison is provided with the effect of a conventional monetary policy such as Open-Market Operations. Finally solutions to this issue are being discussed from economical, political and fiscal standpoints.

In the present study, the long-run evolution of income inequality in several European countries and the US has been presented and the Kuznets' hypothesis empirically assessed. According to Kuznets (1955), the evolution of income inequality along the development process can be pictured as an inverted U-shaped curve. In other words, inequality firstly increases and subsequently decreases as the economy develops. What follows the empirical part is a brief summary of explanations for the reversal observed since the 1970s and 1980s, which have been presented in the literature. In addition, several European socio-economic models are described to demonstrate that there is no simple trade-off between inequality and unemployment as hypothesized by Krugman (1995).

The thesis is focused on the exploration of income inequality among citizens of the Czech Republic and Great Britain. It is a comparison that evaluates the state income redistribution through state social support benefits. It provides information, in which country exists greater income inequality in income distribution among households and whether the income inequality among the citizens decreased due to the payment of these benefits or not. The theoretical parts of the work are devoted to explanation of basic terms (such as income redistribution, instruments of redistribution, relationship between social policy and redistribution) and tools for measuring income inequality (Lorenz curve, Gini coefficient, Robin Hood index, Interquintile share ratio S80/S20). The text also describes the various state social support benefits of both countries. The main research section contains calculations and graphical representations of all the above mentioned indicators. The final values are compared and the results are summarized.

Cette thèse étudie les conséquences macroéconomiques des afflux de capitaux et de financements extérieurs dans les pays en développement. La première partie de la thèse s’intéresse à l’effet économique des financements extérieurs, alors que les deuxième et troisième parties de la thèse analysent l’effet distributif. Après avoir mis l’accent sur les mesures et les concepts susceptibles d’influer le mouvement du taux de change (TC) (Chapitre 1), la thèse révèle un ensemble de résultats. Premièrement, les investissements directs à l’étranger (IDE) et les transferts des migrants sont propices au sein de la région MENA (Middle East and North Africa), néanmoins les flux officiels, de portefeuilles et les prêts bancaires confirment le mécanisme du syndrome hollandais. La présence d’un faible risque politique ; économique et financier permettent d’atténuer l’appréciation du Taux de Change Effectif Réel (Chapitre 2). Deuxièmement, après avoir analysé les difficultés d’ordre méthodologique de l’étude empirique (Chapitre 3), les résultats confirment la mise en cause des hypothèses d’Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson. L’ouverture commerciale n’est pas pro-pauvre dans les pays en développement. L’absence d’un effet robuste de l’impact des afflux de financements extérieurs sur les parts de revenu appelle à une investigation profonde et nous conduit à la troisième partie de la thèse (Chapitre 4). Troisièmement, les transferts des migrants sont d’une part pro-pauvres lorsque le migrant représentatif est d’origine sociale pauvre résident dans un pays riche, de niveau d’émigration qualifiée faible et où le coût d’obtention de passeport est faible. D’autre part, les transferts des migrants sont pro-riches lorsque les coûts de transfert d’argent sont élevés, ce qui se traduit par l’exploitation des canaux informels au détriment des canaux formels (Chapitre 5). L’aide au développement est pro-riche au sein des pays démocratiques et pro-pauvres au sein des pays à niveau de revenu moyen qui sont moins dépendants à l’aide (Chapitre 6). / This thesis examines the macroeconomic consequences of capital and external financial flows in developing countries. While the first part of the thesis focuses on the economic effects of external flows, the second and third parts of the thesis analyse the distributional repercussions. Having focused on the measurement and concepts that may influence the movement of the exchange rate (ER) (Chapter 1), the thesis reveals a set of results. First, foreign direct investment (FDI) and workers remittances are favourable in MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. However, official flows; portfolio flows and border bank loans confirm the Dutch disease mechanism. The presence of institutional quality mitigates the appreciation of the real effective exchange rate (REER) (Chapter 2). Second, after analysing the methodological difficulties of the empirical study (Chapter 3), the results confirm that the assumptions of Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson do not corroborate with the real world. Trade openness is not pro-poor in developing countries. The lack of robustness of capital and external flows on income shares requires a deep analysis and lead to the third part of the thesis (Chapter 4). Third, on the one hand, remittances are pro-poor when the representative migrant is issued from a poor family, living in a rich country or in a low brain drain country and in low passport costs country. On the other hand, remittances are pro-rich when the money transfer costs are high, this reflects the use of the informal channels at the expense of formal channels (Chapter 5). Development aid is pro-rich in democratic countries and pro-poor in middle income countries (less aid dependent countries).

This research analyses the statistical relationship between income distribution and seven taxation and government expenditure components in Namibia using data from 1996-2016. The research is aimed at creating new knowledge on the research topic because no literature exists for Namibia. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) cointegration technique was employed to assess the long-run relationship between the dependent and independent variables in Eviews. The research findings indicated that there is no long-run relationship between the dependent variable and independent variables. In the short-run, the research findings indicate that government expenditure on social pensions and government expenditure on education have a balancing effect on income distribution, while tax on products, corporate income tax and customs and excise duties have an unbalancing and/or worsening effect on income distribution. Based on these findings, tertiary education loans are recommended as opposed to grants to ensure sustainability of Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NASFAF). In adjusting corporate and value added taxes, the government is cautioned to avoid overburdening consumers and employees through tax shifting in the form of high prices of goods and services and low wages and benefits. A tax mix, tax discrimination and a hybrid of taxation and government expenditure components are strongly recommended to achieve a balance. / Economics / M. Com. (Economics)

Madagascar est un pays riche en ressources naturelles mais sa population reste pauvre et vit dans un écart de revenus important. Cette étude aborde le thème des "Inégalités de revenus des ménages en milieu rural malgache" afin de pouvoir apporter des éclaircissements à ce phénomène qui, d’une part, ruine la population rurale et, d’autre part, fragilise la stabilité et la performance économique du pays. Focalisée sur une période quinquennale d’observations répétées, la thèse porte sur les données de panel issues de 667 ménages. La thèse retrace le processus de calculs des revenus des paysans et du "seuil d’inégalité". Adoptant les modèles linéaire et non-linéaire, il s’attache aux spécifications et aux estimations des déterminants qui creusent ou réduisent les écarts de revenus des ménages intra-observatoires et entre observatoires de la côte Centre-Est. Les inégalités de revenus des ménages ruraux existent dans la société rurale Betsimisaraka. Elles sont multiformes. Plus de huit ménages sur dix vivent dans la "zone des pauvres inégalitaires". Les paysans de Mahanoro sont les plus pauvres et subissent aussi plus d’inégalités que ceux de Fénérive-Est. En revanche, à l’intérieur de l’observatoire, la situation a légèrement tendance à décroître au fil du temps. Pour une population assez homogène vivant dans une pauvreté alarmante, les inégalités entre ménages pauvres ne sont pas trop élevées. Les résultats des modèles économétriques soutiennent que la bonne production annuelle de riz réduit les écarts de revenus tandis que le sexe féminin et le niveau d’éducation du chef de ménage, la faible superficie rizicole ainsi que l’investissement, le dépôt financier, la thésaurisation, le sans épargne, l’emprunt, les revenus secondaires, le PIB et la crise politique accentuent les inégalités de revenus / Madagascar is a country rich in natural resources, but its population is poor and lives in a significant income gap. This thesis deals with the issue of "household income inequalities in rural areas in Madagascar", in order to clarify this phenomenon which, on the one hand, ruin the rural population and on the other hand, weakens the country's stability and the economic performance. Covering a five-year period of repeated observations, this thesis focuses on data from 667 households, from a balanced panel. The thesis traces the calculation process of farmers’ income and “inequality threshold”. Adopting linear and non-linear models, it endeavors to specify and estimate determinants that increase or reduce the wealth gap within and between observatories of the Central East Coast of Madagascar. Income inequalities of rural households are found in Betsimisaraka rural society. They are multifaceted. More than eight out of ten households live in the “area of unequal poors”. The farmers in Mahanoro are poorer and suffer more inequalities than in Fenerive Est. However, inside the observatory, the situation slightly tends to increase over time. For a rather homogeneous population living in alarming poverty, the inequalities between poor households are not too high. The results of econometric models argue that the good annual production of rice reduces income disparities, whereas the feminine gender and the education level of the household head, the small size of rice area along with the investment, the financial deposit, the hoarding, the "No savings", the debt, the secondary income, the GDP and the political crisis contribute to greater income inequalities.

The purpose of this study is to gain an in-depth understanding of the five institutional factors: democracy, rule of law, freedom to trade, education and corruption, and how they affect income inequality. The analysis covers a total of 20 different countries, 10 OECD countries, and 10 low to medium income countries between the time period of 2000-2017. The study´s dependent variable is the Gini index and the independent variables are different types of measurements for corruption, democracy, rule of law, freedom to trade, and education. Results from the regression analysis have been made in order to get a better understanding in what way these variables affect income inequality. The result of the regression analysis was that four of these five variables had a negative relation with income inequality. With the independent variable “Freedom to trade” stood for the outlying result. Something that is however in line with previous research where the two categories of countries were split into two different regression analyses and showed different results depending on the type of country. We did the same thing and also then we found the same result as the previous research. Our conclusion from this study is that there seems to be a negative connection between income inequality and the five institutional factors. / Syftet med denna studie är att få en fördjupad förståelse av de fem institutionella faktorerna: demokrati, rättsstatsprincipen, handelsfrihet, utbildning och korruption och hur de påverkar inkomst ojämlikheten. Analysen omfattar totalt 20 olika länder, 10 OECD-länder och 10 låg till medelinkomstländer mellan perioden 2000–2017. Studiens beroende variabel är Gini koefficienten och de oberoende variablerna är olika former av mått på korruption, demokrati, rättsstatsprincipen, handelsfrihet och utbildning. Resultaten från regressionsanalysen har gjorts för att få en bättre förståelse för på vilket sätt dessa variabler påverkar inkomst ojämlikheten. Resultatet av regressionsanalysen var att fyra av dessa fem variabler hade ett negativt samband med inkomstojämlikhet. Där den oberoende variabeln “handelsfrihet” stod för det udda resultatet. Något som dock går i linje med tidigare forskning där man dessutom delade upp de två kategorierna av länder i olika regressionsanalyser och kom fram till olika resultat beroende på typen av land. Detta gjorde vi också och fick även då samma resultat som den tidigare forskningen. Vår slutsats av studien är att det till synes finns ett negativt samband mellan inkomstojämlikhet och de fem institutionella faktorerna.

Qu’ils en soient les auteurs ou les victimes, les Afro-Américains ont toujours affiché un taux d’homicide largement supérieur à celui des Blancs aux États-Unis. La criminologie a toutefois bien documenté la convergence du taux d’homicide noir vers le taux d’homicide blanc au cours des dernières décennies. À cet effet, il est attesté que le taux d’homicide noir diminue de façon continuelle et de façon plus importante que le taux d’homicide blanc depuis les années 1990. Toutefois, peu de recherches ont examiné la situation depuis 2000. Cette recherche doctorale propose d’analyser la façon dont a évolué l'écart entre le taux d’homicide noir et blanc entre 2000 et 2018 en prenant pour comparaison les deux décennies précédentes. Les résultats permettent de conclure à la fin de la convergence entre taux d’homicide noir et blanc depuis 2000. L’écart entre ces deux taux recommence en effet à se creuser à partir de cette date et se révèle, de surcroît, en moyenne plus élevé que l’écart qui existait entre 1980 et 2000. Ici, une analyse de l'évolution de la part moyenne de foyers noirs et blancs appartenant aux catégories sociales les plus pauvres n’a pas permis d’expliquer de façon certaine cette évolution. Toutefois, l’analyse des écarts de revenus a permis de révéler que les États ayant vu leur ratio d’homicide s’accroître sont souvent les États où les écarts entre la part de foyers pauvres noirs et blancs sont les plus élevés. De fait, l’analyse montre que la situation économique des Noirs s’est dégradée depuis 2000 en comparaison des Blancs, attestant ainsi d’un retour général des inégalités, qu’elles soient criminelles ou économiques, entre Afro-Américains et Blancs depuis 2000. / Whether perpetrators or victims, African Americans have historically had a much higher homicide rate than Whites in the United States. Criminology, however, has well documented the convergence of the black homicide rate to the white homicide rate over the past several decades. To that end, there is evidence that the black homicide rate has been steadily declining by a greater amount than the white homicide rate since the 1990s. However, little research has examined the situation since 2000. This doctoral research proposes to analyze how the gap between the black and white homicide rate has changed between 2000 and 2018 using the previous two decades as a comparison. The results allow us to conclude that the convergence between black and white homicide rates has ended since 2000. The gap between these two rates starts to widen again from this date and is, moreover, on average higher than the gap that existed between 1980 and 2000. Here, an analysis of the evolution of the average share of black and white households belonging to the poorest social categories did not provide a definite explanation for this evolution. However, analysis of income differentials revealed that states with increasing homicide ratios are often the states with the highest differentials in the share of poor black and white households. Indeed, the analysis shows that the economic situation of blacks has worsened since 2000 compared to whites, attesting to a general return of inequality, whether criminal or economic, between African Americans and whites since 2000.

In this thesis I conduct a comparative analysis of the influence of socioeconomic actors, business and labor, on public policy in Germany and the United States, specifically public policy that has an impact on economic inequality. The objective of this study is to gain a better understanding of how institutional constructs may determine the level of influence by different socioeconomic actors on public policy. In particular, I examine the link between institutional design and economic inequality, specifically the relative influence of business interests in varying types of capitalist economies and democratic systems, and assess those facets of institutional design that may facilitate the channeling of business influence in policy making. I explore institutional changes in the German political and economic system beginning in the late 1980s to determine whether these changes have altered the policy making process over time, and analyze similarities with institutional changes that have taken place in the United States beginning in the late 1970s to present. Further, I examine whether shifts in institutional design indicate that the German system is transitioning towards a more liberal model similar to that of the United States, and consider what effects this may have on the level of economic inequality in Germany. To conduct my analysis I use the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework; based on the IAD framework I create a conceptual map of the channels by which socioeconomic actors are involved in the policy making process. I evaluate the policy-making process in both formal and informal policy arenas. The policy areas analyzed include corporate governance, industrial relations, and tax, welfare and minimum wage policy during the selected time periods. The analysis shows that the institutional designs that produced the selected policies benefit business interests and may contribute towards economic inequality. The larger goal is to develop research that will build a theoretical foundation to help us identify how these systems may be improved to produce a more equitable allocation of economic resources.