Syllabus/achievement requirements

Literature:

The following textbook is used: Jean Hindriks and Gareth Myles: Intermediate Public Economics, MIT Press 2006 (Hindriks and Myles)

In addition selected journal articles and extracts from books and other sources are collected in a compendium or availible on the web, marked with * or #, respectively.

Introduction

• Hindriks and Myles: Ch 4 Theories of the public sector.
• Hindriks and Myles: Ch 12 Optimality and Comparability, 12.1-12.7.

Tax distortions

• * Stiglitz, J.E. Economics of the Public Sector, Norton, 3rd ed. pp. 518-541.

Income taxation, mixed taxation

• Hindriks and Myles: Ch 15 Income Taxation
• # R?ed, K. and S. Str?m: "Progressive taxes and the labour market ¨C Is the trade-off between equality and efficiency inevitable?" Journal of Economic Surveys 16, no 1.
• # M. Brewer, E. Saez and A. Shephard: Means-testing and tax rates on earnings, Appendix 2A 1-3. The Mirrlees Review, Institute for Fiscal Studies. (http://www.ifs.org.uk/mirrleesReview)
• * Edwards, J., M. Keen and M. Tuomala: Income tax, commodity taxes and public good provision: A brief guide. Finanzarchiv 51, 472-487, 1994.

Commodity taxation, production efficiency

• Hindriks and Myles: Ch 14 Commodity taxation.
• * V. Christiansen: The choice between uniform and differentiated commodity taxation in J. Bolander (ed.) Yearbook for Nordic tax Research 2009, pp. 141-152.

Public goods, marginal cost of public funds:

• Hindriks and Myles: Ch 5 (selected parts announced in the lectures)
• * Atkinson, A.B. and J.E.Stiglitz: Lectures on Public Economics, McGraw Hill. Lecture 16-2, pp 487-494.
• # R. Boadway and M. Keen and M. Tumola: Public goods, self-selection and income taxation, International Economic Review 34, sections 1-3, pp. 463-471.
• * Edwards, J. and M. Keen: Income tax, commodity taxes and public good provision: A brief guide. Finanzarchiv 51, 472-487, 1994.

Corporate taxation, taxation of capital and shares, and the dual income tax:

• * B. Salani¨¦: The Economics of Taxation, MIT Press 2003: Ch 6, pp. 121-129
• * A.Sandmo: Investment, tax incentives and the criterion of neutrality. Discussion papers NHH 6/80
• # Peter Birch S?rensen: Neutral taxation of shareholder income. A Norwegian tax reform proposal, International Tax and Public Finance 12 (6), 777-801, 2005, except 4.3.
• The Mirrlees Review (http://www.ifs.org.uk/mirrleesReview) Ch.17: 17.3 Alternative corporate taxes.

Externalities

• Hindriks and Myles: Ch 7 Externalities
• * B. Salani¨¦: The Economics of Taxation, MIT Press 2003: Ch 10 Environmental Taxation

The welfare state, public vs market solutions, public provision of private goods

• * V. Christiansen: "Public provision of private goods" Notes for Plenary lecture at the Congress of the International Institute for Public Finance, Helsinki 2002
• * A. Sandmo: "Public provision and private incentives" Notes for Plenary lecture at the Congress of the International Institute for Public Finance, Helsinki 2002, NHH Discussion paper 18/2002
• Hindriks and Myles: Ch 9.1, Ch 9.8 "Public Provision of Health Care" and Ch 9.9 "Evidence".
• # S. Blomquist, V. Christiansen and L. Micheletto: Public Provision of Private Goods and Nondistortionary Marginal Tax Rates, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy (forthcoming), sections 1-2.
• # J. Currie and F. Gahvari: Transfers in Cash and In-Kind: Theory Meets Data, Journal of Economic Literature 46, pp. 333-383 (selected parts as announced in the lectures, but see in particular sections 1-4.0)

Fiscal Competition

• Hindriks and Myles: Ch 18 "Fiscal Competition" pp 569-601

Miscellaneous # The Mirrlees Review Chapter 20, 20.1 A good tax system

References will also be made to selected parts of The Mirrlees Review (http://www.ifs.org.uk/mirrleesreview).

* to be included in compendium

# available on web page