In Praise of Frank Ramsey's Contribution to the Theory of Taxation

Frank Ramsey's brilliant 1927 paper, modestly entitled, ‘A contribution to the theory of taxation’, is a landmark in the economics of public finance. Nearly a half century later, through the work of Diamond and Mirrlees (1971) and Mirrlees (1971), his paper can be thought of as launching the field of optimal taxation and revolutionising public finance.1 In this short celebratory article, I briefly describe Ramsey's basic insights (Section 1), and the early history of the development of the ideas based on Ramsey's paper (Section 2). While several of these crucial developments showed that Ramsey's conclusions held under more general conditions than he had assumed, later analyses showed crucial qualifications, so that the policy relevance of Ramsey's analysis may be limited

Economics · Keynesian economics · Law and economics · Mathematical economics · Neoclassical economics · Positive economics · Praise · Ramsey Theory · Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Income, Poverty, and Inequality · Mathematics · Psychology · Social Psychology

• The Origins of Inequality

  Joseph E Stiglitz•The Origins of Inequality•2025

  Añadir item

• The Welfare State in the Twenty-First Century

  Joseph E Stiglitz•The Welfare State Revisited•2018

  Añadir item

• Rawls’s maximin and optimal taxation theory

  Benoît Walraevens•European Journal of the History…•2023

  Añadir item

• The Quest for Security

  Joseph Stiglitz, Mary Kaldor•Quest for Security•2013

  Añadir item

• Capital in the Twenty-First Century

  Thomas Piketty•Capital in the Twenty-First Century•2014

  Añadir item

• Optimal Taxation of Capital Income in General Equilibrium with Infinite Lives

  Christophe Chamley•Econometrica•1986

  Añadir item

• Redistributive taxation in a simple perfect foresight model

  Open Access•Kenneth L Judd•Journal of Public Economics•1985

  Añadir item

• The General Theory of Second Best

  Richard G Lipsey, Kelvin Lancaster•The Review of Economic Studies•1956

  Añadir item

• The design of tax structure

  Open Access•A B Atkinson, Joseph E Stiglitz•Journal of Public Economics•1976

  Añadir item

• An Exploration in the Theory of Optimum Income Taxation

  James A Mirrlees•The Review of Economic Studies•1971

  Añadir item

• Lectures on Public Economics

  Anthony B Atkinson, Joseph E Stiglitz•Lectures on Public Economics•2015

  Añadir item

• A Theory of Optimal Capital Taxation

  Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez•National Bureau of Economic…•2012

  Añadir item

• Contestable Markets and the Theory of Industry Structure

  William A Brock•Journal of Political Economy•1983

  Añadir item

• Privatization, Information and Incentives

  Open Access•David E M Sappington, Joseph E Stiglitz•Journal of Policy Analysis and…•1987

  Añadir item

• The Incidence of the Corporation Income Tax

  Arnold C Harberger•Journal of Political Economy•1962

  Añadir item

• Optimal Capital Income Taxation with Incomplete Markets, Borrowing Constraints, and Constant Discounting

  S Rao Aiyagari•Journal of Political Economy•1995

  Añadir item

• Notes on Estate Taxes, Redistribution, and the Concept of Balanced Growth Path Incidence

  Joseph E Stiglitz•Journal of Political Economy•1978

  Añadir item

• Lectures in Public Economics

  John Whalley, A B Atkinson et al.•Economica•1982

  Añadir item

• Personal Income Distribution

  Harold Lydall, Wilhelm Krelle et al.•Economica•1980

  Añadir item

• A Contribution to the Theory of Taxation

  Frank Plumpton Ramsey•The Economic Journal•1927

  Añadir item

• Peasants versus City-Dwellers

  Pradeep Mitra, Raaj Kumar Sah et al.•The Economic Journal•1994

  Añadir item

• Discounting for Time and Risk in Energy Policy

  Ray Rees, Robert C Lind et al.•The Economic Journal•1984

  Añadir item

• The Theory of International Economic Policy, Volume II. Trade and Welfare

  R F Harrod, Roy Harrod et al.•The Economic Journal•1957

  Añadir item

• A Mathematical Theory of Saving

  Frank Plumpton Ramsey•The Economic Journal•1928

  Añadir item

• Externalities in Economies with Imperfect Information and Incomplete Markets

  Bruce Greenwald, Bruce C Greenwald et al.•The Quarterly Journal of Economics•1986

  Añadir item

• Optimal Taxation and Optimal Tax Systems

  Open Access•Joel Slemrod•The Journal of Economic…•1990

  Añadir item