Date of Original Version
1-1985
Type
Article
Published In
Public Choice 47: 231-265 (1985
Abstract or Table of Contents
Normative arguments for restricting redistribution to cash transfers or a negative income tax have not appealed to politicians or their constituents. All modern governments redistribute income in kind and provide goods and services that can be produced and distributed privately. At times public and private supply coexist. Housing services, medical care, and education are examples, but so too are safety and many regulatory activities of government.