We consider a federation with three regions and an imperfectly mobile population. If in the Nash equilibrium one region makes transfers to the other two then the outcome is efficient. If in the Nash equilibrium two regions make transfers to a third region the outcome may be inefficient, because...

We consider a world in which the mode of food production, foraging or agriculture, is endogenous, and in which technology grows exogenously. Within a model of coalition formation, we allow individuals to form co-operative communities (bands) of foragers or farmers rationally. At the lowest...

We assume that people have beliefs about their abilities, that these generate self-esteem, and that self-esteem is valued intrinsically. Individuals face two choices; one of which strictly dominates the other in a pecuniary sense, but necessarily involves gathering information concerning one's...

The paper examines the redistributive consequences of the economic integration of factor markets. We consider two countries that redistribute income among their residents. The social benefits in each country are financed by a source based tax on capital which is democratically chosen by its...

The authors study a simple model of tariff wars and trade deals in which government revenue collection and disbursement uses resources. The introduction of costly governments leads to lower non-cooperative tariffs, the possibility that a less costly government may win a tariff war, and fully...

We assume that people have beliefs about their abilities that generate self-esteem, and that self-esteem is valued intrinsically. Individuals face two choices; one of which strictly dominates the other in a pecuniary sense, but necessarily involves gathering information concerning their ability....

We consider a world in which the mode of food production, foraging or agriculture, is endogenous, and in which technology grows exogenously. Within a model of coalition formation, we allow individuals to rationally form cooperative communities (bands) of foragers or farmers. At the lowest levels...

According to the conventional wisdom, we face a trade-off between our equity and efficiency objectives. The author challenges this proposition. He shows in a rigorous manner that employment subsidies can indeed lead to lower unemployment and higher productivity growth in a standard economic...

The federal government has implemented an earned income tax credit--what it has called the Working Income Tax Benefit--in the 2007 Budget. Edmund Phelps argued that the earned income tax credit in the United States should be replaced with an employment subsidy. This paper assesses the importance...

Given the fundamental goal of raising living standards in the longer term, much attention is paid to policies that can be expected to increase national saving. With respect to private saving, the mechanism is tax reform – a lower tax on interest income. The basic problem with this approach is...