Optimal Provision of Public Goods: A Synthesis*
综合了公共物品最优供给的两种方法，推导出一个直观公式，表明扭曲性税收仍起作用，但修正的萨缪尔森规则可能导致供给不足。
Abstract The standard approach to the optimal provision of public goods highlights the importance of distortionary taxation and distributional concerns. A new approach neutralizes distributional concerns by adjusting the income tax schedule. We demonstrate that both approaches are derived from the same basic formula. We also take the new approach further by deriving an intuitive formula for the optimal level of public goods, without imposing strong assumptions on preferences. This formula shows that distortionary taxation has a role to play, as in the standard approach. However, the main determinants of optimal provision are different, and the modified Samuelson rule is likely to lead to underprovision.