New Economics Papers
on Public Finance
Issue of 2006‒03‒11
two papers chosen by



  1. Taxation By Louis Kaplow
  2. Joint Taxation and the Labour Supply of Married Women: Evidence from the Canadian Tax Reform of 1988 By Thomas F. Crossley; Sung-Hee Jeon

  1. By: Louis Kaplow
    Abstract: This Handbook entry presents a conceptual, normative overview of the subject of taxation. It emphasizes the relationships among the main functions of taxation -- notably, raising revenue, redistributing income, and correcting externalities -- and the mapping between these functions and various forms of taxation. Different types of taxation as well as expenditures on transfers and public goods are each integrated into a common optimal tax framework with the income tax and commodity taxes at the core. Additional topics addressed include a range of dynamic issues, the unit of taxation, tax administration and enforcement, and tax equity.
    JEL: H20 H21 D61 I38 K34
    Date: 2006–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:12061&r=pub
  2. By: Thomas F. Crossley; Sung-Hee Jeon
    Abstract: The Canadian federal tax reform of 1988 replaced a spousal tax exemption with a non-refundable tax credit. This reduced the "jointness" of the tax system: after the reform, secondary earners' effective "first dollar" marginal tax rates no longer depended on the marginal tax rates of their spouses. In practice, the effective "first dollar" marginal tax rates faced by women with high income husbands were particularly reduced. Using difference-in-difference estimators, we find a significant increase in labour force participation among women married to higher income husbands.
    Keywords: Labour supply, Canadian tax reform, Married women, Difference-in-difference
    JEL: J22 H24
    Date: 2006–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcm:sedapp:149&r=pub

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