SNU GSIS BK21 FOUR Program hosts various events inviting prominent figures to deliver distinguished lectures with our Special Lecture Series.

For our seventh session, we have Professor Yeonju Lee from the Waseda Institute for Advanced Study, Waseda University, who will lecture on the theme: “Inequality Judgement and Preferences for Redistribution”.

Please refer to the below abstract and poster for detailed information. Thank you.

*Abstract: Why does high income inequality not lead to greater demands for redistribution in many democracies? Workhorse models of political economy predict that increasing inequality should lead the median voter to support more redistribution to maximize their post-tax-post-transfer income in democracies (Meltzer and Richard 1981; Romer 1975). However, empirical evidence suggests the opposite. To address this puzzle, I develop and test an argument based on how people judge income inequality, utilizing a multitude of original evidence gathered in Japan and Korea. This presentation is a part of a larger book project, “Judging Inequality,” which explains how people define and judge economic inequality through the lens of a sense of injustice and how inequality judgment shapes the political arena—preferences for redistribution, political polarization, and democratic discontent—in comparative perspective.
* Zoom Meeting (ID: 813 5617 7133) - Direct Link: https://snu-ac-kr.zoom.us/j/81356177133
* Host & Contact: SNU GSIS BK21 FOUR Program (gsis_bk21@snu.ac.kr)