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The Optimal Taxation of Height: A Case Study of Utilitarian Income Redistribution

Author Info

Listed author(s):
  • N. Gregory Mankiw

    ()

    (Harvard University, Economic Department)

  • Matthew C. Weinzierl

    ()

    (Harvard Business School, Business, Government and the International Economy Unit)

Abstract

Should the income tax include a credit for short taxpayers and a surcharge for tall ones? The standard Utilitarian framework for tax analysis answers this question in the affirmative. Moreover, a plausible parameterization using data on height and wages implies a substantial height tax: a tall person earning $50,000 should pay $4,500 more in tax than a short person. One interpretation is that personal attributes correlated with wages should be considered more widely for determining taxes. Alternatively, if policies such as a height tax are rejected, then the standard Utilitarian framework must fail to capture intuitive notions of distributive justice.

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Paper provided by Harvard Business School in its series Harvard Business School Working Papers with number 09-139.

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Length: 27 pages
Date of creation: Jun 2009
Handle: RePEc:hbs:wpaper:09-139
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Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
  • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
  • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
  • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
  • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts

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  15. Anne Case & Christina Paxson, 2008. "Stature and Status: Height, Ability, and Labor Market Outcomes," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 116(3), pages 499-532, 06.
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Blog mentions

As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
  1. Does being short make you more likely to be a criminal?
    by Adam Ozimek in Modeled Behavior on 2010-05-03 11:39:11
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