Three essays on fiscal policy and redistribution

Income redistribution is a major concern in many countries facing various degrees of income inequality. This thesis examines various mechanisms that one can adapt in order to undertake income redistribution optimally. It consists of three essays each addressing a different aspect of a particular redistribution policy adapted in a number of countries.;The first essay examines the role of targeted cash transfers as a screening device when combined with in-kind transfers. Besley and Coate (1991) have shown that universal provision of certain goods can be redistributive even if they are financed by lump-sum taxation. This will arise if the good in question has a higher quality substitute that is preferred by the rich. Their scheme will have only one efficient level of transfers; namely, when the amount provided is precisely the amount the poor would buy for themselves (if they get its value in cash). This paper shows that combining in-kind with cash transfers would enlarge the set of efficient transfer policies.;The second essay integrates the existence of poverty as a negative externality and tax on poor individuals and that the possibility of tax evasion plays a role to determine the size and the sign of the optimal marginal income tax.;Finally, the third essay estimates the implicit social welfare functions of the USA and Brazil using PSID and PNAD for 1990 on direct taxes. Specifically, a non-parametric method is used to compute the density of the skills distribution and the social welfare functions. Under assumptions on the households' preferences the estimations suggest that both American and Brazilian social welfare functions are concave and Paretian; however only the estimated Brazilian social planner can be considered utilitarian.