Social mobility and the demand for income redistribution in Latin America

Alesina and Angeletos (2005) and Alesina and Glaeser (2004) argue that income
redistribution preferences vary systematically between the different regions and
influence the size of government and the composition of public spending. This article
analyses the demand for redistribution in Latin America, paying particular attention
to the effects of mobility expectations on this demand. The findings suggest that
demand for redistribution is driven primarily by self-interest and by considerations
of fairness based on the inequality of opportunities. They also reveal the importance
of past mobility, while the prospect of upward mobility (POUM) hypothesis advanced
by Benabou and Ok (2001) is rejected in the case of the Latin America region.