While frequently invoked, the level playing field ideal and its practical embodiment in tax legislation has received relatively little analysis. This paper examines the economic arguments surrounding the level playing field doctrine. I conclude that leveling the playing field is an issue of...

This paper examines the recent dramatic increase in the ratio of US non-financial debt to GNP. It concludes that it is largely the result of federal budget deficits. There does not appear to have been a major change in traditional patterns of private sector borrowing in recent years. The...

This paper examines the interactions between tax policy, international capitol mobility, and international competitiveness. It demonstrates that tax policies which stimulate national investment without affecting national savings must inevitably lead to deterioration in a country's trade balance...

This paper reviews a number of issues relating to the policy goal of increasing national savings. The first section considers the measurement and definition of national savings. Comparisons of current US savings rates with those of other countries and with the past US experience are presented....

This paper develops an asset price approach to the analysis of capital taxation. The costs of adjusting capital stocks cause tax changes to have important impacts on the valuation of existing capital. The recapitalizations associated with tax reforms represent an important aspect of their...

This note demonstrates that Bennett McCallum's recent critique of low frequency estimates of macro-economic relationships is of little empirical significance. It also demonstrates that readily available and frequently used techniques can be used to diagnose the problem McCallum raises. Finally,...

This paper summarizes my recent research directed at the development of an asset price approach to the analysis of capital income taxation. While asset prices play a crucial role in many macroeconomic models, they have been subordinate in most previous efforts to study the effects of capital...

This paper reviews theoretical argumrents and empirical evidence regarding the interest elasticity of savings. It concludes that there are strong theoretical reasons to expect an increase in after tax rates of return to increase private savings. Moreover, the empirical rrethods used in most...

This paper examines some positive and normative aspects of the inflation indexation of public and private pensions. The analysis showsthat alternative indexing arrangements may have far less impact on actual patterns of risk bearing than is usually thought to be the case. In so far as inflation...