This paper discusses the fundamental determinants of inequality. These are identified as world or market forces, social norms, ownership of real and human capital, and the role of government. The change in the relative role of these factors in determining inequality during economic development...

The paper examines empirically the question of whether more unequal societies spend more on income redistribution than their more egalitarian counterparts. Theoretical arguments on this issue are inconclusive. The political economy literature suggests that redistributive spending is higher in...

This book provides compelling arguments for the exclusive concern with efficiency ('a dollar is a dollar') in all specific areas of public economic policy, leaving the objective of equality to be achieved through the general tax/transfer system. Public policies should ultimately maximize the sum...

Motivation -- International trade and unemployment - the worker-selection effect -- Unemployment benefits as redistribution scheme for trade gains- a positive analysis -- An optimal redistribution scheme for trade gains.

This paper examines whether there is a case for temporary but persistent fiscal surpluses in economies heavily endowed with nonrenewable resources. It finds that there generally is a case. Fiscal surpluses permit replacing nonfinancial wealth with financial assets, the return on which increases...

This paper provides a simple, quantitative, net worth-based, approach to assessing the need for central bank capital. It derives a concept of ""core capital"" (a function of the central bank''s operating expenditures and the carrying cost of its international reserves) as the minimum capital...