Peasants versus City-Dwellers: Taxation and the Burden of Economic Development
Raaj K. Sah and Joseph E. Stiglitz
Abstract
This book addresses one of development’s major issues: that during the early phases of economic development, there are often serious conflicts between the interests of town and country. The Corn Law Debate in England, the economic conflicts between the North and the South prior to the US Civil War, and the Soviet Industrialization Debate are among the historical examples mentioned in the book. Most of today’s countries face town versus country tensions of increasing severity, including such issues as who should pay how much in taxes, who should get how much in subsidies, and what forms the tax ... More
This book addresses one of development’s major issues: that during the early phases of economic development, there are often serious conflicts between the interests of town and country. The Corn Law Debate in England, the economic conflicts between the North and the South prior to the US Civil War, and the Soviet Industrialization Debate are among the historical examples mentioned in the book. Most of today’s countries face town versus country tensions of increasing severity, including such issues as who should pay how much in taxes, who should get how much in subsidies, and what forms the taxes and subsidies should take. This volume analyses these tensions and issues, taking into account the great diversity of institutions and economic environments observed in different less developed countries (LDCs). While dealing primarily with today’s developing countries, the book also sheds new light on some historical controversies. The book is arranged in four parts: I: An introduction to issues and methodology; II: Inter-sectoral taxation policies; III: The rural sector; and IV: The urban sector. Most chapters contain both a non-technical statement of the problems at hand and a summary of the analysis. The book will be of interest to public finance economists, and practitioners and researchers of economic development, as well as to economic historians.
Keywords:
city-dwellers,
conflict,
developing countries,
economic development,
history,
LDCs,
less developed countries,
peasants,
rural sector,
subsidies,
taxation,
taxes,
urban sector
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2002 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199253579 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: January 2005 |
DOI:10.1093/0199253579.001.0001 |
