As a result, the distribution of tax burdens and government expenditure benefits is an important economic question to those concerned with the equity of the fiscal system.
Barna's conceptual framework—first developed as a doctoral candidate at the London School of Economics under Nicholas Kaldor—was influential and today serves as the essential framework for fiscal incidence studies conducted by the British government.
Largely pioneered by researchers at the World Bank, this approach focused narrowly on the distributional impact of education, health and transfer spending programs.
Benefit incidence analyses typically provide detailed estimates of whether poverty-reducing programs—particularly in developing countries—reach targeted populations.
For example, the Australian Bureau of Statistics periodically produces empirical estimates of the net fiscal incidence of Australia's overall government operations.
The United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics also produces regular estimates of the impact of government taxes and spending on household income.