TFhe last few years have seen a resurgence of interest in the old question of how best to raise tax revenue. Roughly speaking, two different problems have been studied. TFhe first is to find a set of commodity taxes that is optimal given certain efficiency and (sometimes) equity considerations. In a second strain of the literature, it is assumed that the revenue system is based upon income rather than commodity taxation, and the problem is to determine the optimal degree of progressivity (or regressivity) .1,2 TI he principal motivation of some writers in the optimal taxation literature seems to be the discovery of fairly simple rules which policy makers actually can implement. Others are more interested in theoretical exploration of the implications of alternative economic assumptions than in developing usable policy recommendations. Practically all the contributions, however, have been quite mathematical and thus inaccessible to many practitioners in the public finance area. The purpose of this essay is to discuss in a nontechnical way the methodology and principal conclusions of the optimal taxation literature.3 In Sections 1 and II are discussed the optimal commodity and income tax literatures, respectively. Following this are some observations on the accomplishments of optimal taxation research and on some open questions.

Discusses a study on the accounting practice and education problems in developing countries which was conducted by the American Accounting Association's Committee in Accounting in Developing Countries. Comments on accounting education in developing countries; Limitations of the study.

This article reports the results of an empirical study which has bearing upon issues of the accuracy of management forecasts of income in particular and the time series properties of earnings data. From the standpoint of whether corporate forecasts of earnings should be disclosed, the question of accuracy is relevant. This article utilizes the Box-Jenkins methodology in the determination of the most appropriate time series model for each firm in the sample. The proposition that management forecasts of income should prove fairly accurate is not supported by the results of this study. In cases in which management forecasts proved reasonably accurate, overall they were not more so than those generated from the time series models. It remains possible that the management forecasts may contain additional information regarding risk or return. For example, market participants may use management forecasts and time series analysis. With respect to the time series properties of quarterly earnings, the results clearly demonstrate the significance of seasonality in quarterly earnings.

The joint determination of work and investment in human capital over the life cycle is analyzed. At low rates of impatience investment is decreasing throughout life, as in simpler models which assume hours of work to be fixed. The demand for leisure over the life cycle is "U shaped." Wages rise to a single peak which occurs after the peak in hours of work. Distinctly different patterns arise when the rate of impatience is high. Such individuals may prefer an increasing hours of work profile, and schooling need not be concentrated at the beginning of life. Conditions are provided to determine a critical level of time preference which is sufficient to induce a "normal" life-cycle pattern for investment and work.

Money illusion, taking the form of lagged price perceptions and viewed in a competitive general equilibrium context, is shown in this paper to reduce the change in a country's balance of payments attributable to a devaluation of given size. Illusion's effect on adjustment is also shown to be probably greater under flexible than under fixed exchange-rate arrangements. The results contrast with a view that illusion, in disguising real-income changes, facilitates the elimination of a balance-of-payments deficit.

Focuses on a project by the American Accounting Association's Committees on Professional Examinations which evaluated the professional examinations for accountants. Objectives of the project; Methodology of the projects; Comparison of examinations and accounting curricula; Recommendations.