Publication

This paper examines empirically that over the last century mass mobilization for war has been associated with a notable increase in tax progressivity. In the absence of war neither the establishment of universal suffrage, nor the arrival of political control by parties of the Left is systematically associated with large increases in tax progressivity. The authors propose an explanation that emphasizes how mobilization for mass warfare changed attitudes about taxation and in particular about the fair burden that should be borne by high income groups.