The book delves into the logical foundations of a specific economic concept, advocating for its application in economic analysis. It presents a thorough examination of the concept's relevance and effectiveness, culminating in a final chapter that evaluates its influence on both theoretical frameworks and empirical research in economics and policy-making.
The Seventh Edition incorporates updated figures and data, while also emphasizing current topics of interest--including the severe economic downturn of recent years and the latest developments in economic thinking. It also includes newly refined Learning Objectives that introduce the concepts explored in each chapter, along with new applications and chapter-opening stories related to the most up-to-date developments in economics. Covering both macroeconomics and microeconomics in one concise paperback volume, this book shows readers how to think and act like an economist by showing them how to use economic concepts in their everyday lives and careers.
Why have Americans severely limited the estate and gift tax - ostensibly targeted at only the very wealthy - but greatly expanded the subsidies to low-wage workers through the Earned Income Tax Credit, now the single largest poverty program in the country? Why do people hate the property tax so much, yet seemingly revolt against it only during periods of economic change? Why are some groups of taxpayers more obedient to the tax authorities than others, even when they face the same enforcement regime? These puzzling questions all revolve around perceptions of tax fairness. Is the public simply inconsistent? A sympathetic and unified explanation for these attitudes is based on understanding the everyday psychology of fairness and how it comes to be applied in taxation. This book demonstrates how a serious consideration of "folk justice" can deepen our understanding of how tax systems actually function and how they can perhaps be reformed.
This book provides a short, critical introduction to controversies in tax policy. It emphasizes the many diverse underlying factors that drive tax policy debates and sheds light on traditional and newly emerging issues of tax policy.
Theory and Policy