Equality, Depolarization, and Tax Progressivity

Introduces concepts in welfare economics and public economics, provides unified approaches to the evaluation of equality, depolarization, and tax progressivity. Looks at the questions of equal sacrifice in taxation, incidence of taxation on deprivation, policy implications of alternative taxation schemes, and alternative economic allocation rules.

This book aims, primarily, to introduce concepts in welfare economics and public economics and will be useful for students in these courses. It provides unified approaches to the evaluation of equality, depolarization, and tax progressivity, three highly important aspects of social wellness. Interconnections among the three seemingly unrelated welfare characteristics are rigorously analyzed in the book, while addressing the questions: What notions of progressivity ensure that an after-tax or post-subsidy income distribution is regarded as more equal than its before-tax or pre-subsidy counterpart? How can depolarization be related to this enquiry? The book takes a sharp and in-depth look also at the questions of equal sacrifice in taxation, incidence of taxation on deprivation, policy implications of alternative taxation schemes, and alternative economic allocation rules. In order to aid students to the best possible extent, it provides non-technical explanations and is enriched by analytical and numerical examples and graphical illustrations of important concepts.