ABSTRACT

Introduction In this chapter I wish to delve deeper into how public finance studies conceptualize the relationship between taxation and distributive outcomes. As we shall see, issues of equity and taxation have always been at the heart of public finance studies. However, the way in which the field has perceived the relationship between inequality and taxation has changed dramatically over time; it is thus the objective of this chapter to explain how public finance studies have conceptualized the role played by taxation over time and particularly to present the most up-to-date methods of conceptualization, with the ultimate aim of assessing the means by which taxation can affect inequality, from a public finance perspective.