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Political Economy of Ramsey Taxation

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  • Daron Acemoglu
  • Mikhail Golosov
  • Aleh Tsyvinski

Abstract

We study the dynamic taxation of capital and labor in the Ramsey model under the assumption that taxes and public good provision are decided by a self-interested politician who cannot commit to policies. We show that, as long as the discount factor of the politician is equal to or greater than that of the citizens, the Chamley-Judd result of zero long-run taxes holds. In contrast, if the politician is less patient than the citizens, the best (subgame perfect) equilibrium from the viewpoint of the citizens involves long-run capital taxation.

Suggested Citation

  • Daron Acemoglu & Mikhail Golosov & Aleh Tsyvinski, 2009. "Political Economy of Ramsey Taxation," NBER Working Papers 15302, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:15302
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    JEL classification:

    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation

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