Taxes and the economy : a survey on the impact of taxes on growth, employment, investment, consumption and the environment

Abstract

In order to analyze the impact of taxation on the development of the economy as a whole, rather than the distribution of wealth or income within it, Vermeend and Jan Willem Timmer (both law, U. of Maastricht) and Rick van der Ploeg (economics, U. of Oxford) look at 16 highly industrialized countries and focus mostly on the period 1970 to 2000. Juxtaposing theoretical and empirical approaches, they consider principles of taxation, key macro-economic variables, knowledge-bases society and economic growth, sustainable development, and lessons for tax policy.