The Evolution of Policy Ideas: Tax Policy in the 20^th Century

Abstract

This analysis traces the evolution of ideas about one of the most important policies facing any state: taxation. The article will demonstrate that elite ideas about tax policy have changed dramatically over the past century and that these ideas have had enormous consequences for the development of the modern state. This article argues that there is an iterative, interdependent and dynamic relationship between policy makers' ideas, political institutions and public policy outcomes.