Tax laws are designed to make us all better off. But there is a famous saying in business: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” Professor Marc Fleurbaey understands the profound challenges hidden within that simple statement. If policymakers can’t measure the potential impact of tax policies, how can they make better laws? Fleurbaey explores how we can evaluate how well off we are so that we can increase not just income and wealth, but also do better to quantify aspects of our society such as health and social relations.
Fleurbaey explains how optimal tax theory, an imperfect tool policymakers use to write our tax laws, can be improved to address similar flaws in the ways we fail to measure what really matters. He also describes the lessons Rawls can teach us about creating tax laws that reflect society’s values more accurately than merely maximizing GDP. The conversation wraps up with a discussion of a surprising carbon tax proposal from conservative economists and politicians that aims to protect both the environment and vulnerable individuals.
Fleurbaey tackles a pencil question about a New Jersey taxpayer named Zarin.
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