Tax evasion has persistently carried severe penalties, although its intended deterrence effect is highly doubtful. We can safely say that it is based on the widely shared assumption among government officials that tax evasion is among the more serious crimes. In other words, the rationale of the...

Media pundits and some politicians would have us believe that industrial production has been declining in the United States. Some would even say that “we don't make things anymore.” However, the statistics show a different picture. This paper examines the trade statistics for the United...

Several Congresses have passed various forms of minimum tax, both at the individual and corporate level. They have even passed alternative minimum tax bills to squeeze out additional tax revenue that would not otherwise be forthcoming. The problem was caused by the philosophy of taxation they...

The goal of this paper is to explore the perception of Kosovo's citizens of the severity of tax evasion relative to other crimes and abuses. Perception of tax evasion may somewhat clarify the degree of rebelliousness with the tax laws. Using data from a self-administered survey and a personnel...

Wife beating, spousal abuse, domestic violence, or whatever else you want to call it, has been around for centuries, probably since the beginning of human existence. There are several reasons why this kind of behavior exists, but the present paper will not get into those reasons. For more on...

One might think that bribery is always unethical. Studies by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development discourage the practice and a number of other studies have viewed bribery in negative terms. However, a closer examination of the issue reveals that the question of whether...

Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) was an economist and journalist. A member of the French Liberal School, he is best known for his free trade ideas and his philosophy of law. Mark Blaug ranks him as one of the 100 greatest economists before Keynes. Schumpeter called him a brilliant economic...

This article addresses the question of whether sanctions constitute violence in the broad sense of that term, and whether, and under what conditions, sanctions can be justified. The sanctions imposed against Iraq and Cuba are discussed as case studies and several ethical theories are applied to...

Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) was an economist and journalist. A member of the French Liberal School, he is best known for his free trade ideas and his philosophy of law. Mark Blaug ranks him as one of the 100 greatest economists before Keynes. Schumpeter called him a brilliant economic...

Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) was a French economist and journalist. One of his classic works is The Candlemakers' Petition, which uses the reductio ad absurdum philosophical technique to dismantle the arguments the French protectionists put forth to protect French industry in the mid-nineteenth...