This article tests for horizontal tax competition in the value-added tax (VAT) for a sample of Brazilian states in the period 1985-2001. The states have considerable autonomy over the VAT and often use it as an industrial policy tool. The empirical findings, based on the estimation of a tax...

This article develops a differential game of tax avoidance by modeling the interactions between a taxpayer and the tax authority. The solution to the game is a noncooperative Nash that depends on the resources used by the tax authority to enforce legislation and the cost borne by the taxpayer in...

This article 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 should be...

Countries that are rich in social capital, defined as the social and political institutions that stimulate interpersonal trust, civic cooperation, and social cohesiveness, tend to have more efficient governments, have better governance systems, and grow faster. This article provides preliminary...

Borrowing costs vary across different levels of government. Local governments often face costlier borrowing than their higher level counterparts. This article shows that the decentralization of expenditure functions and revenue sources to lower tiers of government has a bearing on local...