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| Bart Capéau and Erwin Ooghe |
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| ''Merit goods and phantom agents'' |
| ( 2003, Vol. 8 No.8 ) |
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| Besley (1988) is one of the few exceptional articles containing non-welfarist optimal tax devices. Feehan (1990) reports an error in his first-best rules. The present note argues that Besley's second-best rules optimize the welfare of phantom agents rather than the corrected welfare of real existing agents in society. |
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| Keywords: merit goods |
JEL: H2 - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue: General I3 - Welfare and Poverty: General |
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| Manuscript Received : Jul 01 2003 | | Manuscript Accepted : Jul 01 2003 |
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