The present paper analysis the challenge to redistribution programs posed by an increase in skill premium. The increase in skill premium, which we observe in most OECD countries, affects taxation through its effect on ...

The literature on international tax competition has shown how increased international mobility of the tax base may create a downward pressure on tax rates and give rise to increased inequality in disposable income. This ...

This paper shows how two important interregional transfer schemes, the foundation grant and the power equalization grant, can be seen as two different interpretations of equal opportunity ethics. It provides characterizations ...

Marginal productivity reward has been justified either as a way of ensuring efficiency or of respecting people’s self-ownership. Both these arguments have their limitations. In this paper we present a new and more general ...

Standard welfare economics and optimal tax theory have primarily relied on welfarist theories of distributive justice. An important limitation of welfarist theories is that they are unable to incorporate considerations of ...

Liberal egalitarian theories of justice argue the inequalities arising from non-responsibility factors should be eliminated, but that inequalities arising from responsibility factors should be accepted. The paper discusses ...

Lifestyle diseases constitute an increasing portion of health problems and this trend is likely to continue. A better understanding of the responsibility argument is important for the assessment of policies aimed at meeting ...

We analyse the optimal level of political decision making, national or regional, in a society where people hold different views on public policy. The benefit of policy making at the regional level is that it allows for ...