Tax amnesties are frequently offered by governments to induce citizens to voluntarily declare black assets accumulated from past tax evasion, especially in developing countries with a large ,underground' economy. The resulting switch in a citizen asset portfolios in favor of white assets could...

This paper presents a theory of rent-seeking within farmer cooperatives in which inequality of asset ownership affects relative control rights of different groups of members. The two key assumptions are constraints on lumpsum transfers from poorer members and disproportionate control rights...

The purpose of this paper is to document and trace the causes of the poor and declining revenue performance of the income tax in India and to suggest measures for improvement based on a review of international experience. The paper starts by reviewing evidence that the performance of the income...

Is the institution of land tenancy inefficient? If so, why does it survive? This paper uses a complete contracting framework to develop a theory of land ownership in the context of a labour surplus, subsistence economy. Ownership affects efficiency in the presence of incentive-based...

The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical estimates of the revenue impact of Indian income tax amnesties between 1965 and 1993. A theoretical framework in a companion paper examines the role of amnesties in allowing taxpayers to launder assets accumulated by past tax evasion. Based on...

Comparative static effects of varying the wealth level of a risk averse agent in a moral hazard setting with limited liability constraints are investigated. There are two principal opposing effects of increasing wealth: the incentive effect which allows stronger punishments for poor performance,...

This two-part paper provides a theoretical framework for appraising trade-offs between alternative methods of delegating authority over the delivery of public services, on the targeting and cost-effectiveness of public spending programs in developing countries. Authority over these programs has...