From John Lindsay to Rudy Giuliani: The Decline of the Local Safety Net?

Abstract

The authors consider two puzzles about the local safety net and New York City. First, why do big cities, and particularly New York, engage in so much more redistribution than small towns? The second puzzle is to understand why the level of redistribution in New York City (and to a certain extent elsewhere) has declined so substantially over the past three decades. The authors use results from a companion paper to explain the level and the trend of New York City's redistribution policies. It is necessary to understand why New York City provides local redistribution to seriously evaluate whether this redistribution will continue to be a feature of New York City life.

Keywords: income inequality

JEL Classification: I, J