The popular support obtained by two parties who propose two qualitatively different tax schernes is analyzed. We show that if the median voter is below the mean, then any progressive proposal always wins over a regressive one, provided it leaves the poorest agent at least as well off as the...

We develop a model of endogenous party platform formation in a multidimensional policy space. Party platforms depend on the composition of the parties’ primary electorate. The overall social outcome is taken to be a weighted average of party platforms and individuals vote strategically....

We analyze existence of divergent equilibria in a model of endogenous party platforms with stochastic membership, while the membership depends bothon the proposals of the parties and the unobserved idiosyncratic preferecnces of citizens over parties. It is shown that when citizens view the...

A spatial model of party competition is studied in which, (i) Parties are supposed to have ideology. By this we mean that their goal is to maximize the welfare of their constituencies. (ii) The policy implemented after the election does not need to coincide with the one proposed by the winner....

This paper analyses the optimal inspection, tax and penalty functions, in models where the principal knows the distribution of agent types, inspections are perfect and costly, and where the actions and the types of agents are not costlessly observable by the principal. Agents and the principal...

This paper develops a political model to analyze the stability of income tax schedules. It isassumed that agents perceive any proposed alternative tax policy as more uncertain than thestatus quo. A tax policy is stable if it is a Condorcet winner. It is well known that in a modelwithout...

A one-dimensional model of spatial political competition with endogenous party formation is developed. It is proved that at equilibrium there are only two parties. These parties propose alternatives in the extreme position s of the policy space. The adopted policy, however, is a compromise...

We study an income tax enforcement problem using a principal agent model where the government sets the tax and inspection functions. These functions are announced to the agents and there is no commitment problem. The penalty function for dishonest taxpayers is given exogenously and must satisfy...

We study the existence of cost monotonic selections of the core in economies with several public goods. Under quasilinear utilities there is a cost inonotonic core selection mechanism if and only if the agents order the bundles of public goods equally. If this is indeed the case, any such...