Title
Income inequality and economic freedom in the U.S. states
Publication Date
3-1-2008
Publication Name
Public Choice
Volume
134
Issue
3-4
First Page
329
Last Page
346
Source Full Text URL
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-007-9230-5
Document Type
Article
DOI
10.1007/s11127-007-9230-5
Abstract
This paper examines the impact of economic freedom on income inequality using cross-sectional data for U.S. states. While previous research has explored this relationship internationally, the results have been conflicting. In addition, while it seems obvious that the large institutional differences across countries will impact income inequality, it isn't so obvious that the smaller variation in policies among U.S. states can have a measurable impact. Can improvements in income inequality be used as a justification for marginal pro-market policy reforms at the state level, or is this argument applicable only to national-level institutional reforms? © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, BV.