Using a collective model of consumption, we characterize optimal commodity taxes aimed at targeting specific individuals within the household. The main message is that distortionary indirect taxation can circumvent the agency problem of the household. Essentially, taxation should discourage less...

There is a large empirical literature on policy measures targeted at children but surprisingly very little theoretical foundation to ground the debate on the optimality of the different instruments. In the present paper, we examine the merit of targeting children through two general policies,...

We develop a theoretical model for the intra-household allocation of time and consumption. The model distinguishes between the partners' joint and private leisure time. We estimate the parameters of our model on a Danish time use survey with information on time allocation and expenditures. The...