There’s an interesting posting on Dani Rodrik’s always-interesting blog about the difference that the President’s party affiliation makes to the distribution of income during the four years of the president’s term. Citing a new book by political scientist Larry Bartels, the data apparently show that when a Republican president is in power, people at the top of the income distribution experience much larger real income gains than those at the bottom–a difference of 1.5 percent per year going from the bottom to the top quintile in the income distribution. The situation is reversed when a Democrat is in power: those who benefit the most are the lower income groups.
Not surprising, I suppose — but what is surprising is that “compared to Republicans, Democratic presidents generate higher income gains for all income groups (although the difference is statistically significant only for lower income groups).” Without having read the Bartels analysis, I’m not sure I believe it — but if it is true, it’s pretty interesting, and troublesome (for those of us who from time to time pull the GOP lever in Presidential elections).