This paper concerns Saez and Stantcheva's (2016) generalized social marginal welfare weights (GSMWW), which are used to aggregate losses and gains due to the tax system , while incorporating non-utilitarian ethical considerations. That approach evaluates local changes in tax policy without appealing to a global social objective. However, I argue that local comparisons between different tax systems implicitly entail global comparisons. Moreover, whenever welfare weights are not of a utilitarian kind , these implied global comparisons are inconsistent. Part of the motivation for the GSMWW approach is that it provides a way to incorporate broader ethical judgements into the evaluation of the tax system while preserving the Pareto principle. I suggest that the problems with the approachought to spark a reconsideration of Pareto if one wants to represent broader values in formal policy analysis.
This paper concerns Saez and Stantcheva's (2016) generalized social marginal welfare weights (GSMWW), which aggregate losses and gains due to tax policies , while incorporating non-utilitarian ethical considerations. The approach evaluates local tax changes without a global social objective. I argue that local tax policy comparisons implicitly entail global comparisons. Moreover, whenever welfare weights do not have a utilitarian structure , these implied global comparisons are inconsistent. One motivation for GSMWW is that it preserves the Pareto principle. I argue that the approach's problems should spark a reconsideration of Pareto if one wants to represent broader values in formal policy analysis.
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changes in tax policy without appealing to
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comparisons between different tax systems
tax policy comparisons
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Part of the motivation for the GSMWW approach
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provides a way to incorporate broader ethical judgements into the evaluation of the tax system while preserving the
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suggest that the problems with the approachought to
argue that the approach's problems should