New Economics Papers
on Public Finance
Issue of 2009‒10‒31
three papers chosen by



  1. Large Changes in Fiscal Policy: Taxes Versus Spending By Alberto F. Alesina; Silvia Ardagna
  2. Indirect taxation and the welfare effects of altruism on the optimal fiscal policy By Carlos Garriga; Fernando Sánchez-Losada
  3. Strategic tax collection and fiscal decentralization: the case of Russia By Alexander Libman; Lars P. Feld

  1. By: Alberto F. Alesina; Silvia Ardagna
    Abstract: We examine the evidence on episodes of large stances in fiscal policy, both in cases of fiscal stimuli and in that of fiscal adjustments in OECD countries from 1970 to 2007. Fiscal stimuli based upon tax cuts are more likely to increase growth than those based upon spending increases. As for fiscal adjustments, those based upon spending cuts and no tax increases are more likely to reduce deficits and debt over GDP ratios than those based upon tax increases. In addition, adjustments on the spending side rather than on the tax side are less likely to create recessions. We confirm these results with simple regression analysis.
    JEL: H2 H3
    Date: 2009–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:15438&r=pub
  2. By: Carlos Garriga; Fernando Sánchez-Losada
    Abstract: This paper analyzes the welfare effects of altruism on the optimal fiscal policy. The existence of positive bequests links present and future generations in the economy. We show that these altruistic links provide a new role for indirect taxation (consumption and estate taxes) with important welfare implications. We use three different altruistic approaches (warm-glow, dynastic, and family) to illustrate how the presence of bequests in the budget constraint of the donee gives the government the ability to use indirect taxation to mimic lump-sum taxation and to implement the first-best outcome in the long-run. This channel is not present in economies without altruism, such as the infinite-lived consumer economy or the overlapping generations economy, where long-run welfare is suboptimal and indirect taxation is irrelevant.
    Keywords: Taxation ; Fiscal policy
    Date: 2009
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2009-047&r=pub
  3. By: Alexander Libman (University of Mannheim); Lars P. Feld (University of Heidelberg)
    Abstract: In a centralized federation, where tax rates and taxation rules are set by the federal government, manipulating the thoroughness of tax auditing and the effectiveness of tax collection could be attractive for regional authorities because of a variety of reasons. These range from tax competition to principal-agent problems, state capture and benefits of fiscal equalization. In this paper we discuss strategic tax auditing and collection from the perspective of fiscal federalism and test for strategic tax collection empirically using data of the Russian Federation. Russia’s regional authorities in the 1990s have always been suspect of tax auditing manipulations in their favor. However, in the 2000s increasing bargaining po¬wer of the centre seems to induce tax collection bodies in the regions to manipulate tax auditing in favor of the federal centre. Our findings confirm the existence of strategic tax collection for the Yeltsin period after exclusion of outliers; the results for the Putin period are however rather ambiguous.
    Keywords: fiscal federalism, tax arrears, transition economies
    JEL: H26 H77
    Date: 2009
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:2009/10/doc2009-11&r=pub

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