The literature on optimal redistributional instruments begins with the assumption that society has some preference for equality, leaving the precise degree unspecified. It then asks: How should society pursue that preference? More specifically, what kinds of policy instruments — whether...

Most formal law and economic analysis evaluates legal rules solely on the basis of "efficiency." The prevailing justification for this focus is that -- as a matter of economic theory -- "equity" goals are best accomplished through the income tax, rather than the legal system. In opposition to...