Many studies have shown that wealth inequality is even greater than income inequality and has increased in recent decades. This issue of Policy in Focus is dedicated to wealth taxes, presenting various perspectives on whether they can be an effective instrument for distributive and fiscal...

Eric Jones has found that excessive taxes were detrimental for pre-modern China's economic growth whereas moderate taxes were conducive for Europe's economic growth. This paper provides a political-economic answer to the question why these two tax systems came about. Taxation is only feasible...