research

Paper: Optimal Taxation in Theory and Practice

Link to Paper

Harvard economists N. Gregory Mankiw, Matthew Weinzierl, and Danny Yagan recently published a paper which looked at the “interplay between tax theory and tax policy.”  It rightly shows that there is a wide dichotomy between the tax theories proposed by academic economists and what is actually implemented in Washington and the state capitals.  The authors hope to close the gap between the two extremes by offering “lessens policymakers might take from the academic literature on how taxes ought to be designed.”  It is a paper worth ready by those who participate in the formation of tax policy.

© 2009 Tax Policy Forum.