Income and policy choices: Evidence from parliamentary decisions and referenda

• Measure policy preferences of low, middle, and high-income voters.
• Compare legislators’ decisions and preferences of voters.
• Legislators closely represent preferences of high-income voters.
• Representation depends on legislators’ party affiliations.
• Policy preferences of low, middle, and high-income voters are correlated.

We analyze political representation of low, middle, and high-income voters by matching their referendum choices with parliamentary decisions of legislators on the identical policy proposals. Legislators more closely represent preferences of rich voters than preferences of middle-income and poor voters.

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