A contribution to the theory of optimal utilitarian income taxation

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hellwig, Martin F.
• 署名单位: Max Planck Society
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2007.02.007
• 发表日期: 2007
• 页码: 1449-1477
• 关键词: Optimal income taxation; utilitarian welfare maximization; redistribution

摘要

The paper provides a new formulation of the Mirrlees-Seade theorem on the positivity of the optimal marginal income tax, under weaker assumptions and in a more general model. The formulation of the theorem is independent of whether the model involves finitely many types or a continuous type distribution. The formal argument makes the underlying logic transparent, relating the mathematics to the economics and showing precisely how each assumption enters the analysis. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.