Errors in Housing Unit Listing and their Effects on Survey Estimates

Rising income inequality in the United States has sparked concern about disparities in not only economic well-being but also political participation and efficacy. These concerns have prompted inquiries into the consequences of inequality for national politics and policies, such as federal taxation and immigration (e.g., McCarty, Poole, and Rosenthal, 2006; Bartels, 2004). To date, however, there has not been a comparable effort to study the political consequences of income inequality at the local level. This proposal seeks funding to initiate a research agenda on links between income inequality, political behavior, and policy outcomes in local government. The first project in this agenda will be an examination of whether income inequality in California cities affects the level and composition of local public spending as well as the prevalence of so-called “private governments,” or homeowner associations performing municipal functions.