We consider redistributional taxation between people with and without human capital if education is endogenous and if individuals differ in their perceptions about own ability. Those who see their ability as low like redistributive taxation because of the transfers it generates. Those who see...

We study deception choices, the self-selection of capable and less capable deceivers and deception detection in a tax compliance experiment. We find large systematic differences between whether subjects are perceived as honest or as dishonest. Taxpayers are seemingly aware of these perceptions....

Altruists and envious people who meet in contests are symbionts. They do better than a population of narrowly rational individuals. If there are only altruists and envious individuals, a particular mixture of altruists and envious individuals is evolutionarily stable.

This paper considers education investment and public education policy in closed and open economies with an extortionary government. The extortionary government in a closed economy chooses an education policy in order to overcome a hold-up problem of time-consistent taxation similar to benevolent...

In this paper we briefly report some key data on educational expenditure and output in OECD countries and then turn to the motivations for public education. Public education can be important for equal opportunities and has a number of redistributional aspects within and between generations. We...

Why is there delay in contests? In this paper we follow and extend the line of reasoning of Carl von Clausewitz to explain delay. For a given contest technology, delay may occur if there is an asymmetry between defense and attack, if the expected change in relative strengths is moderate, and if...

This paper compares education investment in closed and open economies without government and with a benevolent government. Closed economies suffer from a holdup problem of excessive redistribution, and governments use education policy as a second-best tool. Globalization that increases labor...