Distributive politics in the era of globalization

My dissertation attempts to explain how globalization and government ideology have shaped income distribution in terms of welfare, inequality and poverty. It is popularly believed that globalization has constrained the policy-making capacities of governments and that most economic policies in the global era converge to neo-liberal or rightist policies. The main argument of this dissertation is that government in the global era still plays a significant role in determining distributive policies and that the ideological position---left, center and right---of the government significantly influences income distribution.; This dissertation evaluates two important questions about globalization, government ideology, and income distribution; first, it addresses how various aspects of globalization such as trade flows, tariff cuts, international portfolio investments, foreign direct investments, and capital mobility have affected the welfare state, income inequality and absolute poverty; and second, how government ideology has affected income distribution. The empirical analyses in this study yield the following conclusions. First, the impact of globalization on income distribution is not one-dimensional. Rather, the impact of globalization on welfare, inequality and poverty vary according to different aspects of globalization. Capital mobility has strengthened the welfare state. Tariff cuts and foreign direct investment have increased income inequality in both developed and less developed countries, while trade flows have reduced income inequality in developed countries. Foreign direct investment and capital mobility have worsened the welfare of the poor, while trade flows have improved it.; Second, contrary to popular belief, governments in the global era still have control over national economic strategies, and government ideology still plays a significant role in determining economic policy choices. The empirical results of this study show that most welfare states have enlarged welfare expenditures in response to the pressure of globalization. The results also show that leftist governments do significantly reduce income inequality and poverty, while rightist governments exacerbate them. These results suggest that leftist distributive policies are still effective in reducing inequality and poverty, even under the pressure of globalization, and that leftist governments still have policy alternatives in the global era.