revised version published in: International Tax and Public Finance, Published:13 October 2021 [online first]
We provide a critique of the standard methodology which bases welfare comparisons between households on deflating household income and consumption by an equivalence scale. We argue that this leads to support for tax/transfer policies that significantly disadvantage low to middle income households and women as second earners. We base the critique both on a theoretical model of the family household and a detailed analysis of Australian income and employment data.
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