Spreading the Wealth Around: Reflections Inspired by Joe the Plumber / N. Gregory Mankiw.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mankiw, N. Gregory.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w15846.

NBER working paper series no. w15846

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Spreading the Wealth Around

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2010.

Summary:

This essay discusses the policy debate concerning optimal taxation and the distribution of income. It begins with a brief overview of trends in income inequality, the leading hypothesis to explain these trends, and the distribution of the tax burden. It then considers the framework that economists use to address the normative problem of designing tax systems. The conventional utilitarian approach is found to be wanting, as it leads to prescriptions that conflict with many individuals' moral intuitions. The essay then explores an alternative normative framework, dubbed the Just Deserts Theory, according to which an individual's compensation should reflect his or her social contribution.

Notes:

Print version record

March 2010.