Taxation, Growth and Fiscal Institutions A Political and Economic An
The causal relationship between growth and inequality is complex, and there have been many scholarly works to study this relationship since the seminal work of Kuznets in the 1950s. Few recent studies in this field have shown that the nature of relationsh
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For further volumes: http://www.springer.com/series/8860
Albert J. Lee
Taxation, Growth and Fiscal Institutions A Political and Economic Analysis
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Albert J. Lee Summit Consulting LLC Washington District of Columbia USA [email protected]
ISSN 2191-5482 e-ISSN 2191-5490 ISBN 978-1-4614-1289-2 e-ISBN 978-1-4614-1290-8 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-1290-8 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London Library of Congress Control Number: 2011937577 © Albert J. Lee 2012 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
In Memoriam Anthony K.C. Lee. “For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain” Kahlil Gibran, Friendship (in The Prophet, 1923)
Foreword
It was Thorstein Veblen who remarked that the motivator of academic research is “idle curiosity.” One may well conclude that recent writings in the leading economic journals have moved increasingly in that direction. Of course, idle curiosity is no sin, but one expects more from those who contribute to the economic literature. That is, we can hope at least occasionally for the emergence of what Benjamin Franklin dubbed “useful knowledge.” Although such contributions are not nonexistent or even strikingly rare, they are hardly common. This book has succeeded in moving us toward both goals—the provision of observations that satisfy the innovator’s curiosity and the presentation of knowledge that, indeed, can be useful. The topic is the vitally important relationship between inequality and growth and the role institutions play in this relationship. All of this is a matter that apparently works in (at least) two directions: The degree of inequality presumably affects an economy’s growth rate, while growth, with its promise for reduction of poverty, is clearly the most powerful instrument for the purpose. This study makes use of both theoretical analysis and empirical evidence and thereby can serve as a model for further work in the area for scholars with different orientations, in terms of preferred research methods. Moreover, it offers insights for the formulation of effective public policy. In short, it is a piece well worth study both by those whose primary scholarly concern is promotion of the public welfare and by those
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