Measuring Welfare Changes and Tax Burdens

Booknews

Creedy (economics, U. of Melbourne) wrestles with some of the conceptual and practical problems of measuring the changes in the welfare of individuals and the excess burdens arising from taxation. He introduces a number of alternative concepts and approaches and provides a number of practical examples from a variety of contexts. He applies the methods to measuring marginal tax reform and indirect tax reform, using data from Australia; examines the redistributive effect of price changes in Australia 1980-99; and the effects of inflation in New Zealand 1993-95. He also calculates the welfare costs of monopoly and measures the burdens of carbon taxation and welfare. No subject index. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.