US cigarette excise tax rates are state interdependent. In contrast, we cannot reject the absence of interdependence for gasoline taxation, which shows a very high degree of inertia. A one-cent increase in the neighbors’ cigarette tax rate implies a contemporaneous cigarette tax increase of...

We consider a federation with two layers of government, in which Leviathan policy makers levy an excise tax on a consumption good that generates a negative externality and that is produced in an imperfectly competitive market. When both layers of government are allowed to tax, policy choices are...