Do citizens legislate different tax policies than parliaments? We provide quasi-experimental evidence for causal effects of direct democracy. Town meetings (popular assemblies) replace local councils in small German municipalities below a specific population threshold. Difference-in-differences,...

This comprehensive and lucid book is concerned with the analysis of tax design and the problems involved in choosing a tax and transfer structure. John Creedy discusses central problems which are illustrated using relatively simple models. He argues that economists can make a valuable...