Maximum likelihood estimation of structural models is regarded as computationally difficult by many who want to apply the Nested Fixed-Point approach. We present a direct optimization approach to the problem and show that it is significantly faster than the NFXP approach when applied to the...

Beginning with Mirrlees, the optimal taxation literature has generally focused on economies where individuals are differentiated by only their productivity. In this pa- per we examine models with discrete types where individuals are differentiated by two or more characteristics. For example, we...