Fairness and tax policy: A response to mankiw's proposed just deserts

Abstract

I further pursue the proposal of Mankiw to consider fairness or Just Deserts as the main guide to tax policy. I suggest very different policy conclusions. In particular, I point out some key assumptions that were left implicit in Mankiw's analysis, and question whether these hold in practice. I then suggest a different formal approach to determining a fair policy. © 2011 EEA.