This paper inverts the usual logic of applied optimal income taxation. It starts from the observed distribution of income before and after redistribution and corresponding marginal tax rates. Under a set of simplifying assumptions, it is then possible to recover the social welfare function that...

Drawing on the formal setting of optimal taxation theory, this paper identifies the degree of Rawlsianism (poverty aversion) exhibited by European social planners, beginning with the observation of actual data and redistribution systems. The paper contributes to the comparative research on the...