Professor Phuong Nguyen has co-authored a paper forthcoming in the National Tax Journal, a leading academic publication in public finance. This study revisits a 1934 survey of public finance professors' opinions on tax policy issues, which has been used as a benchmark in subsequent research. The paper reveals that previous studies relied on a preliminary report of the 1934 survey rather than the full sample.
By analyzing the complete dataset, the authors find significant differences in responses to many questions between the full and preliminary samples. These findings provide a more accurate understanding of the professors’ tax opinions in the 1930s and offer new insights into the temporal shifts in their tax views. Additionally, the paper uncovers questions omitted in the preliminary report, many of which remain relevant to both past policy discussions and current tax debates. This work enhances our historical perspective on tax policy opinions and their evolution over time. Read the full paper, "Which Survey Report to Use? A Revisit to the 1934 Survey of Public Finance Scholars," on the journal's website.