Publications [#238384] of Kent P. Kimbrough

Journal Articles

1. Kimbrough, KP, Optimal taxes and tariffs with private information, Open Economies Review, vol. 19 no. 4 (September, 2008), pp. 411-422, Springer Nature, ISSN 0923-7992
   (last updated on 2024/04/18)

   Abstract:
   The implications of private information regarding a worker's skills for optimal tax policy in an open economy are explored. Two cases are considered. In one general skills are private information and in the other sector-specific skills are private information. It is shown that for a small open economy tariffs and other equivalent trade distortions are not part of the optimal tax policy in either case. In both cases the optimal policy distorts the labor-leisure choice but only in the case of sector-specific skills as private information are labor allocation decisions distorted. For a large country, distortions that are equivalent to the standard optimal tariff formula characterize the optimal tax policy. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008.