Income and Preferences for International Redistribution: Theory and Evidence

How do preferences for international redistribution vary with income across countries? And within countries, are poor people more or less likely than rich people to support international redistribution? I develop a simple model which includes both domestic and international tax and transfer programs. I show that an increase in international redistribution comes at the expense of domestic redistribution. Still, I find that income is negatively correlated with support for international redistribution. Using new data on preferences for an international tax and transfer program in 29 countries, I first show a strong negative correlation across countries between income and preferences for international redistribution. Then, using individual level-data, and different measures of income, I show that in the U.S., and within other countries, income is negatively correlated with support for international redistribution. That is, poor people are more likely than rich people to support international redistribution.