Democratization doesn't uniformly alter income inequality—it depends heavily on initial autocratic distribution patterns.

Surprising Finding: Autocracies that were egalitarian became more unequal after adopting democracy, while highly unequal autocracies saw their distributions equalized post-transition.

Using fixed-effects and instrumental variable regressions to analyze data from Latin America, we demonstrate a clear conditional effect: democratization redistributes market opportunities rather than relying on direct fiscal redistribution.

This suggests that the overall impact of political transitions varies significantly by pre-existing economic conditions. Our analysis highlights how seemingly similar political shifts can produce vastly different outcomes based on socioeconomic context.