On the Optimality of the Friedman Rule with Heterogeneous Agents and Nonlinear Income Taxation

S-Tier
Journal: Journal of Political Economy
Year: 2008
Volume: 116
Issue: 1
Pages: 82-112

Authors (2)

Carlos E. da Costa (not in RePEc) Iván Werning (Massachusetts Institute of Tec...)

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We study the optimal inflation tax in an economy with heterogeneous agents subject to nonlinear taxation of labor income. We find that the Friedman rule is Pareto efficient when combined with a nondecreasing labor income tax. In addition, the optimum for a utilitarian social welfare function lies on this region of the Pareto frontier. The welfare costs from inflation are bounded below by the area under the demand curve. (c) 2008 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:jpolec:v:116:y:2008:i:1:p:82-112
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25