MRS Functions and the Pareto Interval in Public Good Provision
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Norman L. Kleinberg
and
Barry K. Ma
Abstract
The Lindahl-Samuelson condition is adapted to derive the range, or interval, of the efficient/Pareto levels of a public good. The size and bounds of the interval are shown to be dependent on the curvature of the marginal rate of substitution functions and the degree of heterogeneity of preferences. A policy implication is that unlike Nash or private provision, the relationship between the efficient level of a public good and income inequality can be ambiguous.
Funding source: Baruch College Wasserman Fellowship Grant
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Larry Samuelson for encouraging comments in an early version of the paper. We are indebted to Wolfgang Buchholz for his insightful comments and encouragement. The current paper has benefited substantially from the comments and suggestions of the Editor and an anonymous referee.
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Research funding: This work was supported by funds from a Baruch College Wasserman Fellowship Grant.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Overconfidence and Public Intoxication Arrest: Evidence from a University Town Police Log
- The Changing Determinants of Juvenile Crime
- Failing Young and Temporary Workers? The Impact of a Disruptive Crisis on a Dual Labour Market
- Productivity, Innovation Spillovers, and Mergers: Evidence from a Panel of U.S. Firms
- Trade Policies and FDI with an Endogenous Market Structure
- Is There a Business Cycle Effect on the Incidence of Dual Job Holding?
- The Impact of Environmental Taxation on Wage Inequality in the Presence of Subsidizing Renewable Energy
- The Competitive Foundations of Price Cap Regulation
- Letters
- Exploring the Existence of a Short-Run Kuznets Curve: Does the Fourth Industrial Revolution Affect Income distribution?
- MRS Functions and the Pareto Interval in Public Good Provision
- Optimal Imprisonment with General Enforcement of Law
- Immigration and Perceived Social Position. Insights from an Unintended Survey Experiment
