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Taxation, Social Goods And The Distribution Of Freedom

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  • Ernesto Screpanti

Abstract

The quantity of an individual's freedom is thought to coincide with the width of her opportunity set, and this is defined by taking account of budgetary, institutional and legal constraints to choices. A simple cardinal measure of freedom is proposed on the ground of which some exercises in comparative statics are worked out. It is shown that individual choice freedom may be widened when a new good is publicly provided free or at a low price. Furthermore, it is argued that progressive taxation redistributes freedom in favour of the poor, all the more so when public revenues are used to finance the public provision of goods, in which case overall freedom may be augmented.

Suggested Citation

  • Ernesto Screpanti, 2006. "Taxation, Social Goods And The Distribution Of Freedom," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(1), pages 1-12, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:metroe:v:57:y:2006:i:1:p:1-12
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-999X.2006.00230.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    12. Ernesto Screpanti, 2004. "Freedom, Time Constraints and Progressive Taxation," Department of Economics University of Siena 429, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ernesto Screpanti, 2009. "A Quasi‐Natural Measure Of Choice Freedom For Budget‐ And Time‐Constrained Opportunity Sets," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 715-723, November.

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