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Measuring Progressivity and Vertical Equity

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Poverty and Equity

Part of the book series: Economic Studies in Inequality, Social Exclusion and Well-Being ((EIAP,volume 2))

Abstract

As is well-known, the assessment of tax and transfer systems draws mainly on two fundamental principles: efficiency and equity. The former relates to the presence of distortions in the economic behavior of agents, while the latter focuses on distributive justice. Vertical equity as a principle of distributive justice is rarely questioned as such, although the extent to which it must be precisely weighted against efficiency is a matter of intense disagreement among policy analysts. A principle of redistributive justice which gathers even greater support is that of horizontal equity, the equal treatment of equals. The HE principle is often seen as a consequence of the fundamental moral principle of the equal worth of human beings, and as a corollary of the equal sacrifice theories of taxation. This chapter and the next cover in turn the measurement of each of these principles.

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(2006). Measuring Progressivity and Vertical Equity. In: Poverty and Equity. Economic Studies in Inequality, Social Exclusion and Well-Being, vol 2. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-33318-5_7

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