This chapter reviews the theory of the voluntary public and private redistribution of wealth elaborated by economic analysis in the last forty years or so. The central object of the theory is altruistic gift-giving, construed as benevolent voluntary redistribution of income or wealth. The theory...

This article explores subjects in optimal income taxation characterized by recent research interest, practical importance in light of concerns about inequality, potential for misunderstanding, and prospects for advancement. Throughout, the analysis highlights paths for further investigation....

This Handbook entry presents a conceptual, normative overview of the subject of taxation. It emphasizes the relationships among the main functions of taxation—notably, raising revenue, redistributing income, and correcting externalities—and the mapping between these functions and various...

Altruism, giving and pro-social conduct, and reciprocity, are the basis of the existence and performance of societies, through their various occurrences: in families; among the diverse motives of the political and public sector; as the general respect and moral conduct which permit life in...

Optimal policy rules--including those regarding income taxation, commodity taxation, public goods, and externalities--are typically derived in models with homogeneous preferences. This article reconsiders many central results for the case in which preferences for commodities, public goods, and...

Eine ethisch sensibilisierte Sichtweise auf die Finanzmaerkte und den von dort ausgehenden externen Effekten gibt Anlass zur tiefgruendigen Hinterfragung finanzwirtschaftlicher Wert- und Normengefuege. Die kritische Finanzethik praesentiert sich als Unterstuetzerin in diesem Prozess, indem sie...

The multidimensional challenges confronting humanity today, combined with our inability to fully harness the abundant human, social, technological, and financial resources to meet human needs, point to serious insufficiencies in prevailing economic theory modeled on the natural science. A...

This paper aims to formalise both the role of trust (in) and power (of) tax authorities as major determinants of tax compliance, and the interplay between trust and power and its influence on tax climate and overall tax compliance. Unlike the related literature that studies the role of the...

This essay will discuss the criticisms of the economic approach to markets offered by Michael Sandel’s What Money Can’t Buy. After reviewing the main arguments, the essay looks at these from three main angles. First, it relates them to different traditions of thinking about markets...

The question of whether lawyers and managers behave selfishly or fairly has inspired discussion for a long time. Empirical evidence, however, is sparse. Using data from an experiment with 359 law and business administration students, we investigate this question empirically and provide first...