This paper provides a novel justification for using a minimum wage to supplement an optimal tax-and-transfer system. We demonstrate that if labor supply decisions are concentrated along the intensive margin and employment is efficiently rationed, a minimum wage can be socially beneficial by...

This paper suggests two mechanisms by which a progressive distribution of tax burdens may promote economic efficiency. First, a progressive tax rate structure indexed to the median income may discourage rent seeking by powerful interest groups. Second, progressive taxation favors income streams...

A method for handling monotonicity constraints in optimal control problems is applied in order to correct a technical weakness of optimal nonlinear taxation models with many commodities, caused by the neglect of a second order constraint for utility maximization. We conclude that all the optimal...

China is undergoing a transition from a planned economy to a socialist market economy. During the transformation, not only has the economic system undergone significant reengineering, various public aspects of the society have also been profoundly influenced. The article studies the current...

The tax allocation relationship between government and residents in national income is a crucial problem. It directly concerns the economic interests of both the state and individuals, and is relevant to economic development and social stability, as well as national security. The report of the...

In recent years the Chinese economy has moved away from a carbon intensive economy towards an economy that relies increasingly on renewable energy. While this has been most evident with respect to hydro development, it can also been seen in increases in energy produced by solar and wind...

With the application of dynamic spatial panel model under China's decentralization framework, this paper elaborates the impacts of the “horizontal strategic interaction” among local governments, as well as the “vertical common reaction” between central and local governments, on the...