14.471
Public Economics I
Theory and evidence on government taxation policy. Topics include tax incidence; optimal tax theory; the effect of taxation on labor supply and savings; taxation and corporate behavior; and tax expenditure policy.
Fall 2012
Topics
- The Efficiency Costs of Taxation
- General Equilibrium Tax Incidence
- Married Men
- Taxation and the Labor Supply of Married Women
- The Earned Income Tax Credit: Taxes and Labor Supply at Low Incomes
- Tax Rates and Taxable Income
- Tax Expenditures
- Capital Income, Wealth, and Saving Behavior: Stylized Facts and Model Formulation
- Tax Policy, Rates of Return, and Saving
- Tax Reform: Income Taxes vs. Consumption Taxes
- Targeted Tax Subsidies to Saving
- Taxation of Corporate Capital: Investment Incentives
- Taxation and Financial Policy: Debt vs. Equity
- Taxation and Financial Policy: Payout Policy
- Optimal Commodity Taxes: Ramsey and Beyond
- Optimal Corrective Taxation
- Optimal Dynamic Taxes: Intertemporal Ramsey Problem
- Taxation of Labor Income—Theory
- The Taxation of Capital Income and New Dynamic Public Finance
- Dynamic Taxation of Labor Income and Insurance
- Taxation of Intergenerational Transfers (Estate Taxation)
Readings
- Atkinson, A., and J. Stiglitz. Lectures on Public Economics . Mcgraw-Hill College, 1980. ISBN: 9780070841055.
- Auerbach, A., and M. Feldstein. Handbook of Public Economics. Vol 1. North Holland, 1985. ISBN: 9780444548931.
- ———. Handbook of Public Economics. Vol 2. North Holland, 1987. ISBN: 9780444879080.
- ———. Handbook of Public Economics. Vol 3. North Holland, 2002. ISBN: 9780444823144.
- ———. Handbook of Public Economics. Vol 4. North Holland, 2002. ISBN: 9780444823151.
- Gruber, J. Public Finance and Public Policy . 3rd ed. Worth Publishers, 2009. ISBN: 9781429219495.
- Myles, G. Public Economics . Cambridge University Press, 1995. ISBN: 9780521497695.
- U. S. Congress, Congressional Budget Office. The Budget and Economic Outlook: An Update . BiblioGov, 2012. ISBN: 9781249915164.
- Congdon, W., J. Kling, and S. Mullainathan. Policy and Choice: Public Finance through the Lens of Behavioral Economics . Brookings Institution Press, 2011. ISBN: 9780815722588.
- Atkinson, A., and J. Stiglitz. Chapter 6 in Lectures on Public Economics . McGraw Hill College, 1980. ISBN: 9780070841055.
- Blundell, R., and T. MaCurdy. “Labor Supply: A Review of Alternative Approaches.” In Handbook of Labor Economics . Vol 3. Edited by A. Ashenfelter, and D. Card. North Holland, 1999, pp. 1569–1695. ISBN: 9780444822895.
- Davis, S., and M. Henrekson. “Tax Effects on Work Activity, Industry Mix, and Shadow Economy Size: Evidence from Rich Country Comparisons.” In Labour Supply and Incentives to Work in Europe . Edited by R. Salvador, et al. Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 44–104. ISBN: 9781845421298.
- Hausman, J. “Labor Supply.” In How Taxes Affect Economic Behavior . Edited H. Aaron, and J. Pechman. Brookings Institution, 1981, pp. 27–83. ISBN: 9780815700111.
- Heckman, J. “Comment.” In Behavioral Simulations in Tax Policy Analysis . Edited by M. Feldstein. University of Chicago Press, 1982, pp. 70–82. ISBN: 9780226240848.
- Ljunge, M., and K. Ragan. “Labor Supply and the Tax Reform of the Century.” mimeo, University of Chicago, 2005.
- ———. “Work Disincentive Effects of Taxes: A Reexamination of Some Evidence.” American Economic Review 80 (1992): 243–9.
- Hotz, V., and J. K. Scholz. “The Earned Income Tax Credit.” In Means-Tested Welfare Programs in the United States . Edited by Robert Moffitt. University of Chicago Press, 2003, pp. 141–98. ISBN: 9780226533568.
- Atkinson, A., and J. Stiglitz. Chapter 3 in Lectures in Public Economics . Mcgraw-Hill College, 1980. ISBN: 9780070841055.
- Attanasio, O., and M. Wakefield. “The Effect on Consumption and Saving of Taxing Asset Returns.” Dimensions of Tax Design: The Mirrlees Review . Edited by Institute for Fiscal Studies. Oxford University Press, 2010, pp. 675–763. ISBN: 9780199553754.
- Auerbach, A., and L. Kotlikoff. Chapter 5 Dynamic Fiscal Policy. Cambridge University Press, 1987. ISBN: 9780521300414.
- McLure, C. The Value Added Tax: Key to Deficit Reduction . American Enterprise Institute, 1988. ISBN: 9780844736136.
- Auerbach, A., M. Devereux, and H. Simpson. “Taxing Corporate Income.” In Dimensions of Tax Design: The Mirrlees Review . Edited by Institute for Fiscal Studies. Oxford University Press, 2010. ISBN: 9780199553754.
- Goolsbee, A. “Investment Incentives and the After-Tax Price of Capital Goods.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 113 (1998): 121–48.
- Hassett, K., and R. G. Hubbard. “Tax Policy and Business Investment.” In Handbook of Public Economics . Vol 3. Edited by A. Auerbach, and M. Feldstein. North Holland, 2002, pp. 1294–343. ISBN: 9780444823144.
- Myers, S. “Financing of Corporations.” In Handbook of the Economics of Finance . Vol 1. Edited by A. G. Constantinides, M. Harris, and R. Stulz. North Holland, 2003, pp. 215–53. ISBN: 9780444502988.
- Allen, F., and R. Michaely. “Payout Policy.” In Handbook of the Economics of Finance . Vol 1A. Edited by G. Constantinides, M. Harris, and R. Stulz. North Holland, 2003, pp. 337–429. ISBN: 9780444513625.
- Auerbach, A. “Taxation and Corporate Financial Policy.” In Handbook of Public Economics . Vol 3. Edited by A. Auerbach and M. Feldstein. North Holland, 2002, pp. 1252–92. ISBN: 9780444823144.
- Poterba, J., and L. Summers. “The Economic Effects of Dividend Taxation.” In Recent Advances in Corporation Finance . Edited by E. Altman, and M. Subrahmanyam. Richard D Irwin, 1985, pp. 227–84. ISBN: 9780256032796.
- Stern, N. “The Theory of Optimal Commodity and Income Taxation: An Introduction.” In The Theory of Taxation in Developing Countries . Edited by D. Newbery, and N. Stern. Oxford University Press, 1987, pp. 22–59. ISBN: 9780195205411.
- Bovenberg, L., and L. Goulder. “Environmental Taxation and Regulation.” In Handbook of Public Economics . Vol 3. Edited by A. Auerbach, and M. Feldstein. North Holland, 2002, pp. 1474–545. ISBN: 9780444823144.
- Atkinson, A., and J. Stiglitz. Chapter 8 in Lectures on Public Economics . McGraw Hill College, 1980. ISBN: 9780070841055.
- Judd, K. “Optimal Taxation in Dynamic Stochastic Economies: Theory and Evidence.” mimeo, Hoover Institution, 1989.
- Werning, I. “Nonlinear Capital Taxation.” Working paper, MIT, September 2011.
Prerequisites & course information
Prereq: 14.04 G (Spring) 4-0-8 units
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Fall 2012
- MIT OCW calendar ↗
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.