Spending, Ideology, and Redistribution – A Comparative Analysis of Inequality in the EU Countries of the 21st Century

Abstract

Inequality is a buzzword in today’s political debates and an interesting topic from a research perspective. Focussing on the EU member states (excluding the United Kingdom) between 2006 and 2020, this paper examines what influences states to redistribute more and reduce inequality from a comparative perspective. Based on Rational Choice and Power Resources Theory expectations, the author builds a theoretical approach and hypothesises that a larger expenditure and a left-wing governing party lead to more redistribution. Using panel data regression, the author also finds that expenditure does indeed lead to more redistribution, but political ideology does not. Other relevant variables are also tested, showing that equal access to power, coalition governments, and caretaker or technocratic governments, among other significant variables, lead to more redistribution.