nep-pbe New Economics Papers
on Public Economics
Issue of 2015‒12‒01
eighteen papers chosen by
Thomas Andrén
Konjunkturinstitutet

  1. Optimal taxation and public provision for poverty reduction By Ravi Kanbur; Jukka Pirttilä; Matti Tuomala; Tuuli Ylinen
  2. Evaluating Options for Shifting Tax Burden to Top Income Earners By Jorge Onrubia; Fidel Picos; María del Carmen Rodado
  3. Labor Market Institutions and Wage Inequality in the OECD countries By Ellen Marie Rossvoll; Victoria Sparrman
  4. Taxation of housing. Killing several birds with one stone By Erlend Eide Bø
  5. Trade, Ineqality and Costly Redistribution By Oleg Itskhoki; Alonso de Gortari; Pol Antras
  6. Getting the Poor to Work: Three Welfare Increasing Reforms for a Busy Germany By Robin Jessen; David Rostam-Afschar; Viktor Steiner
  7. Do better entrepreneurs avoid more taxes? By Laurent Bach
  8. Tax incentives and R&D: an evaluation of the 2002 UK reform using micro data By Irem Guceri
  9. The Effect of the Tax System as an Institutional Factor on the Business Structure in Europe By Bartha, Zoltan
  10. Local Tax: A comparison of hypotheses By Patrizia Lattarulo; Alessandro Petretto
  11. How can a country 'graduate' from procyclical fiscal policy? Evidence from China By Clemens Fuest; Jing Xing
  12. Under the Radar: The Effects of Monitoring Firms on Tax Compliance By Almunia, Miguel; Lopez-Rodriguez, David
  13. The UK international tax agenda for business and the impact of the OECD BEPS project By Richard Collier; Giorgia Maffini
  14. Searching for the inclusive tax grail: The distributional impact of growth enhancing tax reform in Ireland By Brendan O’Connor; Terence Hynes; David Haugh; Patrick Lenain
  15. Taxes, income and economic mobility in Ireland: New evidence from tax records data By Seán Kennedy; Yosuke Jin; David Haugh; Patrick Lenain
  16. Making Work Pay: Increasing Labour Supply of Secondary Earners in Low Income Families with Children By Kurowska, Anna; Myck, Michal; Wrohlich, Katharina
  17. The Effect of Wealth on Individual and Household Labor Supply: Evidence from Swedish Lotteries By Cesarini, David; Lindqvist, Erik; Notowidigdo, Matthew J.; Östling, Robert
  18. Optimal social insurance and health inequality By Grossmann, Volker; Strulik, Holger

  1. By: Ravi Kanbur; Jukka Pirttilä; Matti Tuomala; Tuuli Ylinen
    Abstract: The existing literature on optimal taxation typically assumes there exists a capacity to implement complex tax schemes, which is not necessarily the case for many developing countries. We examine the determinants of optimal redistributive policies in the context of a developing country that can only implement linear tax policies due to administrative reasons. Further, the reduction of poverty is typically the expressed goal of such countries, and this feature is also taken into account in our model. We derive the optimality conditions for linear income taxation, commodity taxation, and public provision of private and public goods for the poverty minimization case, and compare the results to those derived under a general welfarist objective function. We also study the implications of informality on optimal redistributive policies for such countries, and comment on the potential for minimum wage regulation. The exercise reveals nontrivial differences in optimal tax rules under the different assumptions. The derived formulae also capture the sufficient statistics that the governments need to pay attention to when designing poverty alleviation policies.
    Keywords: redistribution, income taxation, commodity taxation, public good provision, poverty Creation-Date: 2015; Economic growth, Investments, Panel analysis, Productivity
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2015-054&r=pbe
  2. By: Jorge Onrubia; Fidel Picos; María del Carmen Rodado
    Abstract: During the last decade, research on income inequality has paid special attention to top income earners. At the same time, top marginal tax rates on upper income earners have declined sharply in many OECD countries. Discussions are still open on the relationship between the increase of the income share of the richest and to what extent the tax burden should be shifted towards top income earners. In this paper we analyse these questions by building and computing a theoretical framework which extends the Kakwani (1977) expression of the Reynolds-Smolensky (1977) redistribution index using the decomposition by income groups proposed by Lambert and Aronson (1993) and Alvaredo (2011). We show that for three types of revenue-neutral reforms based on Pfähler (1984) (that consist of allocating the tax shifts from “the poor” to “the rich” proportionally to tax liabilities, net income or gross income) the redistributive effect is always higher than before the reform. When the size of the rich group is sufficiently small we also find that the best option is allocating tax changes proportionally to net income, and the worst doing it proportionally to tax liabilities.
    Date: 2015–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fda:fdaddt:2015-12&r=pbe
  3. By: Ellen Marie Rossvoll; Victoria Sparrman (Statistics Norway)
    Abstract: In this paper we attempt to investigate the effect on income inequality of some recent trends in the labour market, changes in regulations of temporary positions and the surge in immigration in many EU-countries. The empirical results show that less strict regulations of temporary positions and higher immigration increase income inequality. The effects of other labour market institutions, such as tax and benefit replacement ratio, on wage inequality are mainly in line with previous literature, but our results are based on a larger sample size in both the time and country dimension. The empirical analysis is conducted on panel data for 20 OECD countries between 1973 and 2011. We perform two robustness checks to our results. First, we account for indirect effects of changes in labor market institutions on wage inequality via the unemployment rates. The indirect effects suggest that labour market institutions have a larger effect on wage inequality than before. Second, we account for cross-sectional dependence and the results point at lower but significant effects of most of the labour market institutions on wage inequality.
    Keywords: Inflation modelling; pattern wage bargaining; inflation targeting; dynamic econometrics; cointegration; small open economy
    JEL: E24 J08 J31 J51
    Date: 2015–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:826&r=pbe
  4. By: Erlend Eide Bø (Statistics Norway)
    Abstract: The Norwegian public policy debate regularly returns to the private housing market. Housing prices have increased by 200 percent in real terms over the last two decades, a large share of households have high debt ratios, and new home buyers face large costs to enter the housing market. In addition, maintaining the welfare state in the face of population aging will likely involve higher tax burdens on the working population in the years to come. As housing is taxed leniently in Norway, increased taxation of housing stands out as a way of killing several birds with one stone: it generates tax revenue, moderates housing prices and increases efficiency. In this paper I discuss the effects on revenue and distribution of a hypothetical change in the taxation of housing in which housing would be taxed as other capital assets. This involves taxing imputed rental income, and a modified wealth taxation schedule. In contrast to other papers on distributional effects of housing taxation, I also take into account the effects of taxation on housing demand. Changes in housing prices that would follow a reform are estimated using a simple user-cost model. I find that the housing tax increase would increase personal tax revenue by 11 percent and make the tax system more progressive. Housing prices would be reduced by 18 percent.
    Keywords: Taxation; Distribution; Housing
    JEL: D31 H24 R21
    Date: 2015–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:829&r=pbe
  5. By: Oleg Itskhoki (Princeton University); Alonso de Gortari (Harvard University); Pol Antras (Harvard University)
    Abstract: This paper studies the welfare implications of trade liberalization in a model in which trade may increases income inequality, and in which redistribution policies are constrained by information frictions (as in Mirrlees 1971). We first consider an extreme case in which redistribution is not feasible, and study the model's quantitative implications for the effect of trade opening on aggregate income and on (standard measures of) inequality. Adopting a welfarist approach, we compute the welfare gains from trade according to social welfare functions featuring various degrees of inequality aversion. We next consider an environment in which redistribution is feasible but only via (non-linear) income taxation. More specifically, the government only observes agents' income but not their skills or other characteristics. We solve for the (constrained) optimal redistribution policy and show how it is affected by trade opening. We also re-compute the welfare effects from trade taking into account the redistributive and efficiency effects of the optimal tax policy. Even when evaluating the welfare effects of trade based purely on its effect on aggregate income, the resulting gains from trade are typically adjusted downwards whenever income taxes are set by an inequality-averse government.
    Date: 2015
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed015:1421&r=pbe
  6. By: Robin Jessen (Freie Universitaet Berlin); David Rostam-Afschar (Freie Universitaet Berlin); Viktor Steiner (Freie Universitaet Berlin)
    Abstract: We study three budget-neutral reforms of the German tax and transfer system designed to improve work incentives for people with low incomes: a feasible flat tax reform that provides a basic income which is equal to the current level of the means tested unemployment benefit, and two alternative reforms that involve employment subsidies to stimulate participation and full-time work, respectively. We estimate labor supply reactions and welfare effects using a microsimulation model based on household data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and a structural labor supply model. We find that all three reforms increase labor supply in the first decile of the income distribution. However, the flat tax scenario reduces overall labor supply by 4.9%, the reform scenario designed to increase participation reduces labor supply by 1%, while the reform that provides improved incentives to work full-time has negligible effects on overall labor supply. With equal welfare weights, aggregate welfare gains are realizable under all three reforms.
    Keywords: Flat Tax; Basic Income; Work Incentives; Poverty Microsimulation
    JEL: H31 I38 J22 C25
    Date: 2015–07–20
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdp:wpaper:2015010&r=pbe
  7. By: Laurent Bach (Stockholm School of Economics and Swedish House of Finance)
    Abstract: In this paper, we estimate why some firms strongly react to avoidance incentives given by nonlinear taxes and regulations while others don¡¯t. We measure avoidance using a kinkpoint in the French corporate income tax schedule and a notch in exposure to French labor regulation. We find that firm profitability is a strong predictor of avoidance: income tax elasticities are 30% bigger among firms in the top quintile of ROA than among firms in the bottom quintile; employment declines induced by the regulation notch are more than twice as big among the former group of firms as among the latter. Going further, we find that tax elasticities reflect in great part the speed of tax code learning by firms and that more profitable firms learn faster. We also find that firms¡¯ avoidance strategies are much more developed when management is more sophisticated and ownership structures are more concentrated. Overall, we conclude that a large part of firm heterogeneity in the strength of reaction to taxes and regulations reflects differences in the quality of governance rather than differences in firm technologies.
    Date: 2015
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:btx:wpaper:1517&r=pbe
  8. By: Irem Guceri (Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation)
    Abstract: The United Kingdom introduced an R&D tax incentive scheme rst for SMEs in 2000 and then for large rms in 2002, gradually increasing the generosity of both schemes after 2008. This study exploits the differences between companies with similar characteristics that were just above the size threshold for eligibility to the SME scheme and those that were just below, before and after the 2002 reform. This allows for a difference-in-differences approach to measure the (additional) impact of the tax incentives on firms around this size threshold. Treatment group firms are found to have increased their R&D spending by around 18 percent on average in response to the large company tax incentive, implying a user cost elasticity of -1.35. We do not find significant differences in this effect between sectors.
    Keywords: R&D, tax credits, difference-in-differences
    JEL: H25 O31
    Date: 2015
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:btx:wpaper:1511&r=pbe
  9. By: Bartha, Zoltan
    Abstract: This chapter focuses on the influence of tax systems and taxation rules on the firm structure of the 28 European Union member economies. It is argued that higher taxes and more complex tax rules lead to smaller firms, and that, on the other hand reduces macroeconomic perfor-mance. It is found that the firm size and corporate tax rates are negatively correlated in case of medium-sized (R=-0.4; p=0.03) and large (R=-0.41; p=0.03) firms. Indications were found that higher transaction costs caused by taxation lead to smaller firms, as a significant negative correlation was found between the number of hours per year needed to administer tax pay-ments, and the share of large firms (R=-0.41 & p=0.03), and also between KPMG’s comment length (an indicator for tax system complexity) and the share of medium-sized firms’ turnover from the total turnover (R=-0.39 & p=0.045). More complicated tax rules might also cause a smaller proportion of firms to grow quicker, but the significance level of these relationships is not very convincing.
    Keywords: tax system; tax rate; institutions; firm size
    JEL: H21 L11
    Date: 2015–06–19
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:68027&r=pbe
  10. By: Patrizia Lattarulo (Istituto Regionale per la Programmazione Economica della Toscana); Alessandro Petretto (Università di Firenze)
    Abstract: The progressive intensification of the tax burden at local scale which has taken place in the last few years as well as the want of stable resources by local bodies is urging a general reconsideration of the modalities in which Italian municipalities are financed. This work discusses the introduction of the Local Tax in Italy, and presents different hypotheses on how it should be devised. The first part recalls the theoretical principles underpinning a tax scheme aimed at financing municipal services and confirms the soundness of a real estate property tax; the second part illustrates the equity implications of the reform proposals meant to shift from the property tax to the Local Tax; the third part presents a comparison among the different types of local tax recommended in the current debate, drawing attention to the possible effects on the tax burden and on the balancing of local bodies’ budgets. The hypotheses compared are a “secondary” municipal property tax (Imposta Municipale Secondaria – IMU S), a “minimal” local tax; and a local tax that involves a partial or complete exemption for the main house. The first hypothesis has a poor effect, particularly as regards the goal of simplification, given the low amounts and the reduced number of municipalities involved, so that it does not seem appropriate as a means of local financing. The second one, which complies with vertical harmonization, modifies the taxable base of municipalities, thus implying a reform of their present organization, a fact that, considering the current budgetary difficulties, makes this the most complex of these hypothesis. The third one, which is the one privileged in the current debate, pursues the goals of equity; the present work analyzes the possible effects of the alternatives of partial versus total exemption for the main house and discusses the modalities to finance the manoeuvre. The financing of the exemption for the main house through transfer taxes is obviously the easiest and straightest way, but it lessens the tax autonomy, and thus the financial responsibility, of local governments. Conversely, financing the exemption with an increase of the property tax on secondary houses has a limited impact in terms of tax burden and municipal revenues, since the two amounts largely compensate each other. Then again, the distributive impact is quite uncertain. From a distribution point of view, this works underlines the efficacy of a system of permanent deductions as well as the prospective relevance of Land Registry’s reform.
    Keywords: taxation, local finance, real estate property taxes
    JEL: H31 H71
    Date: 2015
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irp:essays:596&r=pbe
  11. By: Clemens Fuest (ZEW and University of Mannheim); Jing Xing (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)
    Abstract: In this study, we analyse the cyclicality of fiscal policies in China during the period 1978-2013. We find that the cyclicality of local government spending in China significantly affects the cyclicality of total government spending. By employing both time-series and province-level panel data, we show that local budgetary government spending was strongly procyclical during the 1980s, but it became counter-cyclical with respect to nationwide output fluctuations and acyclical with respect to region-specific output shocks since the mid-1990s. We argue that these are likely to be consequences of the 1994 fiscal reform, which revamped the fiscal relations between the central and local governments, reduced the procyclicality of local government budgetary revenue and brought in counter-cyclical intergovernmental transfers. Findings of this study contribute to the debate on how developing and emerging countries, in particular those with federal fiscal structures, could reduce the procyclicality of their fiscal policies.
    Keywords: Fiscal federalism, tax reform, government spending
    JEL: H71 H72 H77
    Date: 2015
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:btx:wpaper:1514&r=pbe
  12. By: Almunia, Miguel (University of Warwick and CAGE); Lopez-Rodriguez, David (Banco de España)
    Abstract: This paper analyzes the effects on tax compliance of monitoring the information trails generated by firms’ activities. We exploit quasi-experimental variation generated by a Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) in Spain, which monitors firms with more than 6 million euros in reported revenue. Firms strategically bunch below this threshold in order to avoid stricter tax enforcement. This response is stronger in sectors where transactions leave more paper trail, implying that monitoring effort and the traceability of information reported by firms are complements. We calculate that there would be substantial welfare gains from extending stricter tax monitoring to smaller businesses.
    Keywords: tax enforcement, firms, bunching, Spain, Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) JEL Classification: H26, H32
    Date: 2015
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:245&r=pbe
  13. By: Richard Collier (PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP); Giorgia Maffini (Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation and Dondena Centre at Bocconi University, Milan)
    Abstract: In the last few years, the UK has adopted a fiercely competitive business tax policy by reducing the general tax burden on business and by expanding individual regimes targeted to mobile factors: CFC rules, interest deductibility rules and the Patent Box have made the UK very attractive for internationally mobile capital and profits. As the same time, the UK has strongly supported the OECD BEPS project aimed at reducing multinationals¡¯ tax avoidance and, hence, we argue, at eliminating or constraining forms of tax competition among countries based on individual regimes targeted to mobile capital and profits. We claim that, especially in the implementation phase of the BEPS recommendations, there will be tensions between the UK competitiveness agenda and its support for the BEPS. Such tensions will be reconciled by shifting the UK tax competition policy from a mix of rate-based plus individual regimes policy to more of a rate-based approach. In this scenario, the government will have to tighten some specific measures aimed at attracting highly mobile capital and profits such as the patent box regime and possibly interest deductions. At the same time, it will reduce the tax burden on both mobile and less mobile activities by implementing economy-wide cuts, allowed under BEPS. Most likely, such cuts would come from a further reduction in the headline corporate tax rate and the cuts announced in the July 2015 Budget should be interpreted in this light. Cuts in the headline rate essentially reduce the taxation on profits but they do not take account of the fact that for other decisions such as investment in tangible assets and information and communications technology, other elements of the tax code such as capital allowances are more important. To foster real investment, the government could consider an increase in capital allowances. Another option would be the introduction of an Allowance for Corporate Equity (ACE). The interesting feature of the ACE in the context of BEPS is that it reduces the incentive to classify financing instruments as tax-advantaged debt.
    Date: 2015
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:btx:wpaper:1513&r=pbe
  14. By: Brendan O’Connor; Terence Hynes; David Haugh; Patrick Lenain
    Abstract: The economic literature suggests that a revenue-neutral shift of tax revenues from income taxes to property taxes would increase GDP per capita in the medium term. This paper analyses for Ireland the consequences of such a shift in the tax mix. In particular, it examines whether this can be carried out in a way that would neither undermine income distribution nor depress government revenue. Simulations using the ESRI tax-benefit model, SWITCH, suggest it is possible to achieve such a broadly revenue-neutral tax shift in a non-regressive way, while lowering marginal tax rates for most taxpayers. In particular, reductions in the Universal Social Charge would reduce marginal and average tax rates and have a positive impact for the income of most households. This could be funded by shifting the tax base toward residential properties, though this might have an adverse effect on income distribution, due to Ireland’s high rates of home ownership throughout the income distribution. The analysis shows that low income groups could be protected through the careful introduction of income-related supports, with revenue losses recovered through a more progressive property tax rate structure. Overall, the simulations show that a shift from labour to property tax can be pro-growth and pro-employment, without equity losses. The paper therefore suggests that tax reform can be inclusive.<P>A la recherche du graal de l'impôt inclusif : L'impact redistributif de la réforme de l'impôt pour améliorer la croissance en Irlande<BR>La littérature économique suggère qu'un transfert, neutre en termes de recettes fiscales, de l’impôt sur le revenu à l'impôt foncier augmenterait le PIB par habitant dans le moyen terme. Ce document analyse dans le cas de l’Irlande les conséquences d'un tel changement de la composition des recettes fiscales. En particulier, il examine si cela peut être effectué sans porter atteinte à la répartition des revenus et aux recettes du gouvernement. Des simulations faires à l'aide du modèle impôts-prestations sociales de ESRI, SWITCH, suggèrent qu'il est possible de faire un tel transfert d’impôt sans incidence sur les recettes, d'une manière non régressive, et tout en réduisant les taux marginaux d'imposition pour la plupart des contribuables. En particulier, réduire la charge sociale universelle permettrait de réduire les taux d'imposition marginaux et moyens et d’avoir un impact positif sur les revenus de la plupart des ménages. Cela pourrait être financé en transférant l’assiette fiscale vers les propriétés immobilières, bien que cela pourrait avoir un effet négatif sur la distribution des revenus en raison de taux élevés d’accès à la propriété immobilière en Irlande. L'analyse montre que les groupes à faible revenu pourraient être protégés en calibrant minutieusement les mesures de soutien au revenu des personnes concernées, mesures qui seraient elles-mêmes financées grâce à une structure plus progressive de l’imposition des propriétés immobilières. Au total, les simulations montrent que transférer l’assiette fiscale de la main-d'oeuvre à la propriété immobilière pourrait être favorable à la croissance et à l’emploi, sans pertes en termes d’équité. Le document suggère donc que la réforme fiscale peut être inclusive.
    Keywords: welfare, income tax, benefits, property tax, Ireland, tax, tax bases, Irlande, bien-être, croissance, simulations, impôt
    JEL: H21 H23 H24 H53 I31 I38
    Date: 2015–11–27
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1270-en&r=pbe
  15. By: Seán Kennedy; Yosuke Jin; David Haugh; Patrick Lenain
    Abstract: This paper analyses income inequality in Ireland using a new panel dataset based on the administrative tax records of the Revenue Commissioners for Ireland. High inequality at market incomes in Ireland by international standards appears to be driven by both ends of the income distribution. An analysis of income mobility over time shows it has been low at both ends of the income distribution, though it increased at the low end once the crisis began, reflecting the sharp deterioration of the labour market. The data confirms that the tax system is highly progressive at the high end of income distribution and the welfare system provides the most significant support to lower income deciles in Ireland. The redistributive function in the tax and benefit system was enhanced during the last decade, not only because more income support was necessitated with the crisis, but also because of steeper and more progressive tax rates. This working paper relates to the 2015 OECD Economic Survey of Ireland (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-ireland.<P>Les impôts, le revenu et la mobilité économique en Irlande : Nouvelles preuves à partir des données des dossiers fiscaux<BR>Ce document analyse l’inégalité de revenus en Irlande à l’aide d’un dataset panel construit à la base des déclarations fiscales du Revenue Commissioners de l’Irlande. La forte inégalité du revenu initial en Irlande par rapport aux normes internationales apparait être dirigée par les deux extrémités de la distribution des revenus. Une analyse de la mobilité économique (à travers de la distribution des revenus) dans le temps montre qu’elle était faible aux deux extrémités de la distribution des revenus, mais elle a accru à l’extrémité inférieure de la distribution une fois la crise a commencé, en reflétant la forte détérioration du marché du travail. Les données confirment que le système fiscal est hautement progressif à l’extrémité supérieure de la distribution des revenus et le système de protection sociale fournit le soutien le plus important au sein de déciles de revenu inférieurs en Irlande. Le fonctionnement redistributif du système d’imposition et de protection sociale a été renforcé dans la dernière décennie, non seulement car la crise a nécessité plus de soutien du revenu, mais aussi en raison des taux d’imposition rendus plus accentués et progressifs. Ce Document de travail se rapporte à l’Étude économique de l’OCDE de Irlande 2015 (www.oecd.org/fr/eco/etudes/etude-econom ique-irlande.htm).
    Keywords: social benefits, income tax, income distribution, tax credit, impôt sur le revenu, distribution des revenus, prestations sociales
    JEL: D31 D63 E24 H24 H53
    Date: 2015–11–27
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1269-en&r=pbe
  16. By: Kurowska, Anna (Warsaw University); Myck, Michal (Centre for Economic Analysis, CenEA); Wrohlich, Katharina (DIW Berlin)
    Abstract: In-work support through the tax-benefit system has proved to be an effective way of increasing labour supply of lone mothers and first earners in couples in a number of OECD countries. At the same time these instruments usually create negative employment incentives for secondary earners. This in turn reduces the potential of in-work support to address the joint objectives of higher employment and lower poverty levels. In this paper we present a simulation exercise to examine labour supply implications of a diverse set of possible reforms to the main elements of tax and benefit support of families with children. We set the analysis in the context of the Polish tax and benefit system and show how an adequate combination of increased generosity of support with the introduction of a "double earner" premium may result in increased labour supply of first and second earners in couples. The simulated reactions are concentrated in the lower half of the income distribution thus increasing the potential of in-work support to alleviate poverty.
    Keywords: labour supply, tax-benefit reforms, family policy
    JEL: J22 J13 J18
    Date: 2015–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9531&r=pbe
  17. By: Cesarini, David (New York University); Lindqvist, Erik (Stockholm School of Economics); Notowidigdo, Matthew J. (Northwestern University); Östling, Robert (Institute for Interntional Economic Studies (IIES))
    Abstract: We study the effect of wealth on labor supply using the randomized assignment of monetary prizes in a large sample of Swedish lottery players. We find winning a lottery prize modestly reduces labor earnings, with the reduction being immediate, persistent, and similar by age, education, and sex. A calibrated dynamic model of individual labor supply implies an average lifetime marginal propensity to earn out of unearned income of -0.11, and labor-supply elasticities in the lower range of previously reported estimates. The earnings response is stronger for winners than their spouses, which is inconsistent with unitary household labor supply models.
    Keywords: Labor supply; household labor supply; income effect; marginal propensity to earn; substitution effect; uncompensated elasticity; compensated elasticity; Frisch elasticity; household bargaining; unitary model of the household; self-employment; taxation
    JEL: H20 J12 J22 J24 J26 J62
    Date: 2015–11–23
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1094&r=pbe
  18. By: Grossmann, Volker; Strulik, Holger
    Abstract: This paper integrates into public economics a biologically founded, stochastic process of individual ageing. The novel approach enables us to investigate the interaction between health and retirement policy in order to quantitatively characterize the optimal joint design of the social insurance system today and in response to future medical progress, and its implications for health inequality. Calibrating our model to Germany, we find that currently the public health and pension system is approximately optimal. Future progress in medical technology calls for a potentially drastic increase in health spending that typically shall be accompanied with a lower pension savings rate and a higher retirement age. Medical progress and higher health spending is predicted to lead to more health inequality.
    Keywords: Ageing; Health Expenditure; Health Inequality; Social Security System; Retirement Age
    JEL: H50 I10 C60
    Date: 2015–11–23
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fri:fribow:fribow00464&r=pbe

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