Water Taxes and Consumer Behavior in France

Gasoline Taxes and Consumer Behavior

Gasoline taxes can correct externalities associated with automobile use, reduce dependency on foreign oil, and raise government revenue. Our understanding of the optimal gasoline tax and the efficacy of existing taxes is largely based on empirical analysis of consumer responses to gasoline price changes. In this paper, we directly examine how gasoline taxes affect consumer behavior as distinct ...

Taxes, Lawyers, and the Decline of Witch Trials in France

How is rule of law established? We address this question by exploring the effect of increases in fiscal capacity on the establishment of well-enforced, formal, legal standards in a preindustrial economy. Between 1550 and 1700, there were over 2,000 witch trials in France. Prosecuting a witch required local judges to significantly deviate from formal rules of evidence. Hence, we exploit the sign...

In-Kind Taxes, Behavior, and Comparative Advantage

This paper treats taxation in kind (IKT) as an example of price regulation, emphasizing IKT-avoidance behavior, and its interactions with the other costs of price controls. This emphasis fundamentally changes efficiency conclusions, and adds new ones. IKTs do not in fact randomly sample suppliers, and the burdens of IKTs are not limited to the hidden tax paid by suppliers that actually transact...

When do fat taxes increase consumer welfare?

Previous analyses of fat taxes have generally worked within an empirical framework in which it is difficult to determine whether consumers benefit from the policy. This note outlines on simple means to determine whether consumers benefit from a fat tax by comparing the ratio of expenditures on the taxed good to the weight effect of the tax against the individual's willingness to pay for a one-p...

Excise Taxes, Consumer Demand, Over-Shifting, and Tax Revenue