Basic Income Studies Copyright (c) 2008 Berkeley Electronic Press All rights reserved. http://www.bepress.com/bis Recent documents in Basic Income Studies en-us Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:28:34 PDT 3600 Review of Erik Olin Wright (ed.), Redesigning Distribution http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art17 http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art17 Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:10:12 PST Wim Van Lancker Review of Tony Fitzpatrick, New Theories of Welfare http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art16 http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art16 Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:10:10 PST Gerard Cotterell welfare theory Review of Guy Standing and Michael Samson, A Basic Income Grant for South Africa http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art15 http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art15 Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:10:08 PST Adam Whitworth Review of Harvey and Boyle (eds.), Basic Income Guarantees and the Right to Work http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art14 http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art14 Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:10:05 PST Monika Wallmon The Republican Case for Basic Income: A Plea for Difficulty http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art13 http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art13 Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:10:02 PST Stuart White Why Republicanism? http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art12 http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art12 Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:10:00 PST Carole Pateman Property and Republican Freedom: An Institutional Approach to Basic Income http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art11 http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art11 Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:09:57 PST Antoni Domènech A Republican Right to Basic Income? http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art10 http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art10 Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:09:55 PST Philip Pettit Basic Income and the Republican Ideal: Rethinking Material Independence in Contemporary Societies http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art9 http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art9 Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:09:52 PST David Casassas Reforming Tax Incentives Into Uniform Refundable Tax Credits http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art8 http://www.bepress.com/bis/vol2/iss2/art8 Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:09:49 PST Each year the US federal individual income tax delivers over $500 billion worth of tax incentives intended to encourage socially beneficial activities. Currently the vast majority operate through deductions or exclusions, which link the size of the subsidy to the taxpayer's marginal tax bracket. This article argues that uniform refundable credits are a more efficient approach for tax incentives intended to correct for positive externalities, absent evidence that positive externalities exist or that externalities or elasticities associated with the subsidized activity vary by income class. Moreover, some type of refundable credit should almost always be the most efficient subsidy even if externalities or elasticities rise with income. Their efficiency benefits are further magnified by their tendency to automatically smooth household income and macroeconomic demand. This article thus proposes a dramatic change in how the government provides tax incentives for socially valued activities: the default for all such tax incentives should be a uniform refundable tax credit. Lily L. Batchelder