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SOCIALLY IMPROVING TAX REFORMS *
Author(s) -
Duclos JeanYves,
Makdissi Paul,
Wodon Quentin
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
international economic review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.658
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1468-2354
pISSN - 0020-6598
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2354.2008.00520.x
Subject(s) - poverty , economics , public economics , commodity , welfare , social welfare , estimator , welfare reform , economic growth , political science , market economy , statistics , mathematics , law
This article proposes graphical methods to determine whether commodity tax changes are “socially improving,” in the sense of improving social welfare or decreasing poverty for large classes of social welfare and poverty indices. It also shows how estimators of critical poverty lines and economic efficiency ratios can be used to characterize socially improving tax reforms. The methodology is illustrated using Mexican data.