Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/46338 
Year of Publication: 
2010
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 3294
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
We study Downsian competition in a Mirrleesian model of income taxation. The competing politicians may differ in competence. If politicians engage in vote-share maximization, the less competent politician's policy proposals are attractive to the minority of rich agents, whereas those of the competent politician are attractive to the majority of poor agents. The less competent politician wins with positive probability, which gives rise to a political failure in the sense of Besley and Coate (1998). Political failures are avoided if politicians maximize winning probabilities. Nevertheless, the two equilibria cannot be Pareto-ranked, the minority may be better off under vote-share maximization.
Subjects: 
electoral competition
non-linear income taxation
candidate quality
JEL: 
C72
D72
H21
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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