POLS 331 - Political Development

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Is global income inequality simply an unfortunate side effect of economic competition between countries with different resource endowments, or is it caused by patterns of political domination that were established during the colonial era? Are the world’s poorest countries poor because their governments are ineffective (or hopelessly corrupt), or are they poor because they have pursued unwise economic policies? What role do geography, culture, and regime type play in explaining global income inequality?