Internationalization, Globalization, and their Effects on Taxation, Fiscal Policy, and Redistribution on OECD Nations since 1945

Call for Papers for a session at the XVIIth World Economic History Congress, Kyoto, Japan, 3-7 August 2015

Organizers: Gisela Huerlimann, University of Zurich (CH), W. Elliot Brownlee, University of California Santa Barbara (USA), Eisaku Ide, Keio University (JP)

The session invites scholars from the field of economic history, fiscal sociology, public finance and taxation to join a discussion of key aspects of fiscal history with a focus on redistributive taxation since World War II. The central question of the discussion is: What trends, patterns, potential path dependencies and / or critical junctures in tax policies and redistributive outcomes can be discerned after 1945 in the countries that now form the OECD nations? We especially encourage the participation of scholars who are interested in examining the perception that tax policy within the OECD nations has tended to become less diverse, reflecting erosion in the ability of democratic governments to moderate the forces of globalization. We are interested in exploring the factors that lie behind this erosion—factors such as globalization; the recent economic and financial crises; the pressures that result from inflexible, long-term fiscal commitments running up against demographic and economic realities; and growing tax resistance driven by neo-liberal ideas, the increasing fragmentation of welfare states, and the growing political power of great concentrations of wealth. In discussing these factors, we would like to learn more about the role of debates in the OCED nations regarding just taxes, tax justice, tax equity, and tax efficiency since 1945. We also wish to encourage consideration of the long-term fiscal consequences of the erosion mentioned above. For example, we are interested in whether or not a “debt state” is gradually replacing the “tax state” in the OECD nations, as some fiscal scholars hold. Finally, we hope to set our discussion of international political economy since 1945 within a critical discussion of the findings and questions raised by the rich base of research produced since the 1990s on income and wealth distribution as well as on the outcomes of progressive taxation.

Proposals with a paper title, a 300-word abstract and a 1 page CV should be submitted by June 30th 2014 to: ghuerlimann@fsw.uzh.ch, brownlee@history.ucsb.edu or ask.ide@gmail.com
Prospective participants will be notified of acceptance by the end of August 2014. The final papers must be submitted to the session organizers by March 30th 2015.