Bequest taxation and efficient allocation of talents

Abstract

In this paper we analyze intergenerational mobility on education. After a brief empirical analysis of the influence of family background on educational attainment, we present a dynamic model where the decisions concerning education may be financially constrained. Therefore, people who get higher educational levels are not necessarily the most talented. This “misallocation effect” causes a reduction in the efficiency of the economic system. We show that a proportional bequest taxation, whose yield is redistributed among all “youths”, increases efficiency.