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Tax and Expenditure Policy

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PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Baker Institute Tax and Expenditure Policy Program is actively involved in research that focuses on the effects of fundamental reform of our nation’s tax system. The broad goals of the program include providing economic analyses of tax and expenditure policy at the national, state and international levels to serve as a resource for commentary on current policy issues. In addition, program researchers actively participate in the policymaking process by advising various national government agencies, a wide range of state and international governments, and multilateral development institutions, as well as various key individual policymakers. Program researchers also have been asked to testify before federal and state government committees.

The research of the Tax and Expenditure Policy Program focuses on four critical areas. The primary focus regarding U.S. tax reform is on the simulation of the effects of fundamental tax reform, as well as more incremental income tax reform, using a large-scale dynamic computer general equilibrium model constructed by John Diamond and George Zodrow. Recent projects on state tax reform include evaluations of alternative public school funding options, analyses of state and local investment tax incentives, an investigation of proposals to increase state sales taxation of services, an analysis of the optimal taxation of electronic commerce, and an examination of the effects of the property tax. Malcolm Gillis is currently working on higher education reform projects in South Korea, Germany and Vietnam; Zodrow is engaged in tax reform efforts in Canada and Colombia; and all members of the program have served as consultants to international governments. Expenditure policy projects include an examination of education vouchers, an investigation of the social security disability insurance program’s interaction with other programs, an analysis of employer-provided health insurance, an investigation of the distribution of Medicaid benefits among groups of potential recipients, and an examination of how government expenditures can foster advances in nanotechnology, biotechnology and information technology.

The Tax and Expenditure Policy Program organized a major conference in April 2006 that focused on the various proposals for tax reform currently under discussion in the United States. The proceedings of the conference were published in 2008 by MIT Press in a volume entitled “Fundamental Tax Reform: Issues, Choices and Implications,” edited by Diamond and Zodrow.

Additionally, Zodrow and Diamond hold key editorial roles at the National Tax Journal, the leading publication for the dissemination of high-quality original research on governmental tax and expenditure policies. Zodrow is a co-editor and Diamond is forum editor. Zodrow and Peter Mieszkowski, Rice professor emeritus of economics, were also recently honored by the National Tax Association.

PUBLICATIONS
2010
Income Volatility and Mobility: U.S. Income Tax Data, 1999-2007
Jan 31 2010
John W. Diamond, David Splinter, Victoria Bryant
2009
Pillars of Public Finance
Nov 01 2009
George Zodrow
Next Mayor Must Fix Pension Problems
Oct 11 2009
John W. Diamond
Clunkers Program Ignores Basic Economic Principles
Aug 20 2009
John W. Diamond
Capital Mobility and Capital Tax Competition
Jul 03 2009
George Zodrow
Fiscal Stimulus 101: Lower Taxes and Sensible Spending
Feb 11 2009
John W. Diamond
Economic Policy: Recommendations for the Next Administration
Jan 11 2009
John W. Diamond, Leslie Countryman
2008
The Financial Crisis of 2008
Oct 31 2008
John W. Diamond
Welfare and Macroeconomic Effects of Deficit-Financed Tax Cuts: Lessons from CGE Models
Aug 19 2008
John W. Diamond, Alan D. Viard
The Impact of H.R. 25 on Housing and the Homebuilding Industry
May 05 2008
John W. Diamond, George Zodrow
Selecting Parameter Values for General Equilibrium Model Simulations
Mar 28 2008
Timothy S. Gunning, John W. Diamond, George Zodrow
Ideas That Will Actually Cut Into Global Warning
Feb 07 2008
Neal Lane, Malcolm Gillis
Using an Individual Income Tax Panel File to Measure Changes in Marginal Tax Rates: Opportunities and Limitations
Jan 31 2008
John W. Diamond, Ralph A. Rector, Mike Weber
2007
The Robert A. Mosbacher Global Issues Series Lecture by The Honorable Carlos M. Gutierrez
Dec 07 2007
Carlos M. Gutierrez
Consumption-Based Direct Taxes: A Guided Tour of the Amusement Park
Jun 30 2007
Charles E. McClure, Jr., George R. Zodrow
EVENTS