Capital Taxation

by Martin Feldstein

The new chairman of President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers, Martin Feldstein is also the leading economist in the field of tax analysis. In this important volume he shows how systems of taxation influence the rate and nature of capital formation―a key policy issue in the development of any economy.

The first part of Capital Taxation deals with the overall rate of saving and examines the effects of taxes on both personal and corporate saving as well as on the interaction between the two. The second section describes the effects of tax rules on household selection and size of investment and the process of portfolio adjustment. In Part 3, Feldstein turns to corporate investment in plant and equipment and in inventories. Part 4 analyzes the impact of capital taxation in a growing economy. Feldstein's perceptive identification of important economic and policy questions, adroit use of modeling and new data sources, and careful attention to dynamics make this book a powerful addition to the economic literature.

496 pages, Hardcover

First published May 2, 1983

About the author

Martin was an American economist. From 1982 to 1984, Feldstein served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and as chief economic advisor to President Ronald Reagan.