Banking on redistribution in Latin America: Transaction costs, democracy, and fiscal redistribution in Latin America from 1808 to 2008 | Posted on:2010-09-16 | Degree:Ph.D | Type:Dissertation | University:Stanford University | Candidate:Menaldo, Victor | Full Text:PDF | GTID:1446390002472977 | Subject:History | Abstract/Summary: | | Do the poor soak the rich after a transition to democracy? I seek to answer that question by focusing attention on Latin America's political and fiscal history since independence. This is a highly unequal region of the world where we should not only expect redistribution after a democratic transition, but expect a whole lot of it. My dissertation argues and demonstrates that a democracy can only redistribute from the rich to the poor when a critical mass of citizens keeps their money in the bank, thus allowing the tax authorities to identify tax obligations, verify compliance, conduct audits, and deter evasion with self-assessed tax returns. It is the combination of the low enforcement costs provided by a large banking system and suffrage that is critical for diminishing inequality through the tax code. | Keywords/Search Tags: | Democracy, Redistribution, Latin, Tax | | Related items |
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