An ongoing debate has centered on whether redistribution should be attained solely through taxes and transfer payments, or also via the private law. The most powerful argument against redistribution through private law is grounded on economic considerations. Accordingly, legal rules are more...

Productivity is not just an important concept for economists, but for other social scientists as well. This article by Jeff Matrick, Editor of Challenge and economics columnist for the New York Times, is a review of a the recently published edited volume Towards a Social Understanding of...

Do rising inequality and youth unemployment aect preferences for redistribution? Using country-level European survey data from 2002 to 2015, I show that changes in market inequality and the rise of (youth) unemployment increase preferences for redistribution. The ndings are supported by the...

Do rising inequality and youth unemployment affect preferences for redistribution? Using country-level European survey data from 2002 to 2015, I show that changes in market inequality and the rise of (youth) unemployment increase preferences for redistribution. The findings are supported by the...

This chapter reviews the theory of the voluntary public and private redistribution of wealth elaborated by economic analysis in the last forty years or so. The central object of the theory is altruistic gift-giving, construed as benevolent voluntary redistribution of income or wealth. The theory...

Some people have a concern for a fair distribution of incomes while others do not. Does such a concern matter for majority voting on redistribution? Fairness preferences are relevant for redistribution outcomes only if fair-minded voters are pivotal. Pivotality, in turn, depends on the structure...

Some people have a concern for a fair distribution of incomes while others do not. Does such a concern matter for majority voting on redistribution? Fairness preferences are relevant for redistribution outcomes only if fair-minded voters are pivotal. Pivotality, in turn, depends on the structure...

We conduct a discrete choice experiment with a sample of 6,000 German household heads to examine how fairness preferences influence the support for carbon taxes and revenue-recycling options. While it is well-known that carbon taxes are effective in reducing emissions and can be made...

In this chapter, Frank Graves examines the relationship between what he describes as the "official economy," as portrayed by conventional measures of economic performance, and public perceptions of the state of the economy. He also considers the public's understanding of the relationship between...