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on Public Economics |
| By: | Ivica Urban (Institute of Public Finance, Croatia) |
| Abstract: | Traditional analyses of redistributive effects of the tax-benefit system are rooted in the concepts of relative income inequality and proportionality. This observation also applies to decompositions proposed by Kakwani (1977, 1984) and Lambert (1985) that reveal the vertical and horizontal effects of tax-benefit instruments. This paper generalises those decompositions within the frameworks of the alternative inequality concepts suggested by Ebert (2004) and Bosmans et al. (2014). As expected, the results of the empirical analysis indicate that for different views of inequality, different taxes and benefits play significantly different roles in reducing inequality. |
| Keywords: | inequality concepts, redistributive effect, vertical equity, taxes and benefits. |
| JEL: | D63 H22 H23 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2017-427&r=pbe |
| By: | Benjamin B. Lockwood; Dmitry Taubinsky |
| Abstract: | A common objection to “sin taxes”—corrective taxes on goods like cigarettes, alcohol, and sugary drinks, which are believed to be over-consumed—is that they fall disproportionately on low-income consumers. This paper studies the interaction between corrective and redistributive motives in a general optimal taxation framework. On the one hand, redistributive concerns amplify the corrective benefits of a sin tax when sin good consumption is concentrated on the poor, even when bias and demand elasticities are constant across incomes. On the other hand, a sin tax can generate regressivity costs, raising more revenue from the poor than from the rich. Sin tax regressivity can be offset by targeted transfers or income tax reforms if differences in sin good consumption are driven by income effects, but not if they are driven by preference heterogeneity, and not if the indirect incentives the sin tax generates for labor supply decisions are not salient. The price elasticity of demand determines the extent to which corrective benefits versus regressivity costs determine the size of the optimal tax. We implement our optimal tax formulas in a calibrated model of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption for a range of parameter values suggested by empirical work. |
| JEL: | H0 I18 I3 K32 K34 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23085&r=pbe |
| By: | Landon, Stuart (University of Alberta, Department of Economics); Smith, Constance (University of Alberta, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This study uses Monte Carlo methods to examine the impact on welfare of several types of commonly used fiscal rules. The simulations employ an expected intertemporal welfare function and the parameters from a three-variable structural VAR estimated using data for sixteen European countries. The VAR captures the potential interaction effects between output, government spending and revenue. We find welfare gains from many, but not all, of the fiscal rules. The best rules target a zero structural deficit and cause government spending volatility to fall by about one third. However, a simple rule, where government expenditure is set equal to a one-period ahead forecast of revenue, performs almost as well. In particular, this simple rule yields a welfare gain and a reduction in volatility similar to that of the more complicated zero structural deficit rule adopted by Switzerland and several other countries. Balanced budget rules perform less well than rules that target the structural deficit. A rule that keeps real per capita government spending equal to a constant—a type of rule adopted by some U.S. states—yields relatively low welfare and often leads to significant debt accumulation. These results highlight the importance of the appropriate design of a fiscal rule. |
| Keywords: | fiscal rules; fiscal policy; stabilization; government spending; European economic policy |
| JEL: | E61 E62 E63 H61 H62 H63 |
| Date: | 2017–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:albaec:2017_002&r=pbe |
| By: | Bick, Alexander (Arizona State University); Fuchs-Schündeln, Nicola (Goethe University Frankfurt) |
| Abstract: | We document contemporaneous differences in the aggregate labor supply of married couples across 17 European countries and the US. Based on a model of joint household decision making, we quantify the contribution of international differences in non-linear labor income taxes and consumption taxes to the international differences in hours worked in the data. Through the lens of the model, taxes, together with wages and the educational composition, account for a significant part of the small differences in married men's and the large differences in married women's hours worked in the data. Taking the full nonlinearities of labor income tax codes, including the tax treatment of married couples, into account is crucial for generating the low cross-country correlation between married men's and women's hours worked in the data, and for explaining the variation of married women's hours worked across European countries. |
| Keywords: | taxation, two-earner households, hours worked |
| JEL: | E60 H20 H31 J12 J22 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10504&r=pbe |
| By: | Raimond Maurer; Olivia S. Mitchell; Ralph Rogalla; Tatjana Schimetschek |
| Abstract: | People who delay claiming Social Security receive higher lifelong benefits upon retirement. We survey individuals on their willingness to delay claiming later, if they could receive a lump sum in lieu of a higher annuity payment. Using a moment-matching approach, we calibrate a lifecycle model tracking observed claiming patterns under current rules and predict optimal claiming outcomes under the lump sum approach. Our model correctly predicts that early claimers under current rules would delay claiming most when offered actuarially fair lump sums, and for lump sums worth 87% as much, claiming ages would still be higher than at present. |
| JEL: | G11 G22 H55 J26 J32 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23073&r=pbe |
| By: | Kumar, Anil (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas); Liang, Che-Yung (Uppsala University) |
| Abstract: | We extend a standard taxable income model with its typical functional-form assumptions to account for nonlinear budget sets. We propose a new method to estimate taxable income elasticity that is more policy relevant than the typically estimated elasticity based on linearized budget sets. Using U.S. data from the NBER tax panel for 1979-1990 and differencing methods, we estimate an elasticity of 0.75 for taxable income and 0.20 for broad income. These estimates are higher than those obtained by specifications based on linearization. Our approach offers a new way to address the problem of endogenous observed marginal tax rates. |
| Keywords: | taxable income; nonlinear budget sets; panel data |
| JEL: | D11 H24 J22 |
| Date: | 2016–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:feddwp:1611&r=pbe |
| By: | Dario Cestau (Carnegie Mellon University); Richard C. Green (Carnegie Mellon University); Norman Schürhoff (University of Lausanne, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Swiss Finance Institute, and Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)) |
| Abstract: | Build America Bonds (BABs) were issued by states and municipalities for twenty months as an alternative to tax-exempt bonds. The program was part of the 2009 fiscal stimulus package. The bonds are taxable to the holder, but the federal Treasury rebates 35% of the coupon payment to the issuer. The stated purpose of the program was to provide municipal issuers with access to a more liquid market by making them attractive to foreign, tax-exempt, and tax-deferred investors. We evaluate one aspect of the liquidity of the bonds|the underpricing when the bonds are issued. We show that the structure of the rebate creates additional incentives to underprice the bonds when they are issued, and that the underpricing is larger for BABs than for traditional municipals, controlling for characteristics such as size of the issue or the trade. This suggests that the bonds are not more liquid, contrary to the stated purpose of the program, or that issuers and underwriters are strategically underpricing the bonds to increase the tax subsidy, or both. Several findings point to strategic underpricing. There is a negative correlation between the underwriter's spread and the underpricing. The underpricing for BABs is quite evident for institutional and interdealer trades, while that for tax-exempts is primarily for smaller sales to customers. Counterfactuals for our estimated structural model also suggest strategic underpricing. |
| Keywords: | Underpricing, Build America Bonds, Municipal Finance, Financial Intermediation, Incentive Conflicts |
| JEL: | E44 E63 G23 H74 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp1232&r=pbe |
| By: | Priftis, Romanos; Zimic, Srecko |
| Abstract: | We find that debt-financed government spending multipliers vary considerably depending on the location of the debt holder. In a sample of 59 countries we find that government spending multipliers are larger when government purchases are financed by issuing debt to foreign investors (non-residents), compared to the case when government purchases are financed by issuing debt to home investors (residents). In a theoretical model we show that the location of the government debt holder produces these differential responses through the extent that private investment is crowded out in each case. Increasing international capital mobility of the resident private sector decreases the difference between the two types of financing, a prediction, which is also confirmed by the data. The share of rule-of-thumb workers, as well as the strength of the public good in the utility function play a key role in generating model-based fiscal multipliers, which are quantitatively comparable with those of the data. |
| Keywords: | Debt financing, Fiscal multipliers, Government spending, Magnitude restrictions, Small open economy |
| JEL: | E2 F41 G15 H6 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eui:euiwps:eco2017/01&r=pbe |
| By: | Kudryashova, Ekaterina |
| Abstract: | The article is devoted to the issues of international regional tax integration. The international economic integration has two mainstreams: global and regional economic integration. The global tax integration is concerned only with double taxation matters while the regional tax integration aims at procuring of four fundamental freedoms of common market and goes far beyond the elimination of double taxation. The legal solution for both global and regional international tax integration can not be found on the base of traditional conflict of laws method (sometimes called collision technique). Only the substantive law instruments meet the needs of both types of tax integration. The experience of international regional tax integration shows the examples of integration (or community) tax law system formation which include both supra-national and national sources of law. The tax harmonization is usually started with indirect taxes and indirect taxes harmonization reaches the highest level. The tax harmonization covers the tax administration issues. The direct taxes are usually harmonized later and only with reference to selected issues. Taxes are part of sovereignty which is vested in particular state therefore supra-national entities do not have their own tax systems. |
| Keywords: | tax harmonization, international economic integration, the European Union, european tax law, community tax law, international tax law, tax administration, indirect taxes, VAT, excise duties, taxes on income and capital |
| JEL: | F1 F10 F36 F6 H2 H3 K0 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:76407&r=pbe |
| By: | Jasper de Jong; Marien Ferdinandusse; Josip Funda |
| Abstract: | The global financial crisis and the euro area sovereign debt crisis that followed induced a rapid deterioration in the fiscal positions of countries across the globe. In the ensuing fiscal adjustment process, public investments were severely reduced in many countries. How harmful is this for growth perspectives? Our main objective is to find out whether the importance of public capital for long run output growth has changed in recent years. We also aim to provide information on the relevance of international spillovers of public capital. To these ends, we expand time series on public capital stocks for 20 OECD countries as constructed by Kamps (2006) and estimate country-specific recursive VARs. Results show that the effect of public capital shocks on economic growth has not increased in general, although results differ widely between countries. This suggests that the current level of public investments generally does not pose an immediate threat to potential output. Of course, this could change if low investment levels are sustained for a long time. We furthermore provide some tentative evidence of positive spillovers of public capital shocks between European countries. |
| Keywords: | Public capital stock; economic growth,; spillovers |
| JEL: | E22 E62 H54 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dnb:dnbwpp:542&r=pbe |
| By: | Stefan Bach; Martin Beznoska; Viktor Steiner |
| Abstract: | This paper documents methodology underlying the construction of the integrated data base for our study on “Wer trägt die Steuerlast in Deutschland? – Verteilungswirkungen des deutschen Steuer- und Transfersystems” (Who bears the tax burden in Germany? – Distributional Analyses of the German tax and transfer system). Financial support from the Hans Böckler Stiftung for the project is gratefully acknowledged. The paper greatly benefited from comments by the members of the scientific advisory council of the project. |
| Keywords: | Microsimulation models on taxes and transfers, data integration, income distribution |
| JEL: | H24 C81 D31 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwddc:dd86&r=pbe |
| By: | Li Tan (Department of Economics at the University of Missouri); Cory Koedel (Department of Economics and Truman School of Public Affairs, at the University of Missouri); |
| Abstract: | We forecast lifetime earnings of young workers to study the redistributive effects of Social Security, prospectively. Using data from an older generation of workers, we first establish that our forecasting method can recover the actual distribution of Average Indexed Monthly Earnings taken from Social Security Administration records. We then extend the method to forecast Social Security returns for recent cohorts and examine redistributive trends. Our methods and data are accessible, facilitating straightforward replications and extensions. Focusing on redistributions across race and education groups, and on men’s own benefits, we show that Social Security exhibits little progressivity, and little progressivity improvement, for recent cohorts. |
| Keywords: | Earnings forecast, Bayesian forecasting, Social Security, Social Security progressivity, Social Security projections |
| JEL: | H55 J18 J32 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:umc:wpaper:1701&r=pbe |
| By: | Lerzan Ülgentürk |
| Abstract: | Contingent liabilities are major sources of fiscal risks due to the uncertain financial commitments they involve. Their effective management, therefore, is essential for increasing stability and predictability in public finance. This paper explores the role of public debt managers in contingent liability management based on the results of a background OECD survey and the information provided by seven task force countries. The results indicate that there are certain roles and responsibilities assumed by the public debt managers in this field, while the degree of involvement differs widely across countries. We also observed that the debt management offices’ (DMOs) involvement is more prominent in the management of government credit guarantees, while contingent liabilities arising from Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and government sponsored insurance programmes appear to be outside the domain of public debt managers in most cases. Drawing on leading country practices and lessons from the past, this paper advises public debt managers on possible motives and areas of involvement. |
| Keywords: | contingent liabilities, fiscal risk, government credit guarantees, government insurance programmes, public debt management, public private partnerships |
| JEL: | G18 H63 H81 |
| Date: | 2017–02–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:dafaaf:8-en&r=pbe |
| By: | Steven C. Bourassa (Florida Atlantic University); Donald R. Haurin (Ohio State University (OSU)); Patric H. Hendershott (University of Aberdeen); Martin Hoesli (University of Geneva, University of Aberdeen, and Swiss Finance Institute) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to review the international evidence on the impacts of mortgage interest deductions on homeownership rates. The probability of becoming a homeowner is a function of the relative cost of owning and renting, borrowing constraints, permanent household income, and a set of taste variables. The relative cost of owning and renting is in part a function of house prices and the annual user cost of owner-occupied housing. Tax policies affect the user cost of owner-occupied housing and, in turn, the probability of becoming a homeowner. They also affect the price of housing due to capitalization effects. We draw on a number of empirical studies that have been conducted for several countries in North America, Europe, Australasia, and Asia. The empirical evidence suggests that, contrary to popular wisdom, the MID generally does not increase the ownership rate. This result is likely due to the fact that the MID is capitalized into house prices, especially where housing supply is inelastic. |
| Keywords: | homeownership, tax policy, house prices |
| JEL: | R21 R31 G21 H2 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp1206&r=pbe |
| By: | Gee, Laura Katherine (Tufts University); Lyu, Xinxin (Tufts University); Urry, Heather (Tufts University) |
| Abstract: | The ability to punish free-riders can increase the provision of public goods. However, sometimes the benefit of increased public good provision is outweighed by the costs of punishments. One reason a group may punish to the point that net welfare is reduced is that punishment can express anger about free-riding. If this is the case, then tools that regulate emotions could decrease the use of punishments while keeping welfare high, possibly depending on pre-existing levels of aggression. In this lab experiment, we find that adopting an objective attitude (Objective), through a form of emotion regulation called cognitive reappraisal, decreases the use of punishments and makes a statistically insignificant improvement to both net earnings and self-reported emotions compared to a control condition (Natural). Although the interaction between the emotion regulation treatment and level of aggression is not significant, only low aggression types reduce their punishments; the results are of the same direction but statistically insignificant for high aggression types. Overall, our findings suggest that pairing emotion regulation with punishments can decrease the use of punishments without harming monetary and mental welfare. |
| Keywords: | public goods, punishment, emotions |
| JEL: | C72 C91 C92 D7 H41 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10499&r=pbe |
| By: | Yoshio Kamijo (School of Economics and Management, Kochi University of Technology); Takehito Masuda (Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University); Hiroshi Uemura (School of Economics and Management, Kochi University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | In this study, we employ a game-theoretic framework to formulate and analyze a number of tax audit schemes. We then test the theoretical predictions in a laboratory experiment. We compare audit schemes based on three audit rules: the random rule, cut-off rule, and lowest income reporter audited rule. While the cut-off rule is known to be optimal in theory, it has not thus far been examined in a controlled laboratory experimental setting. Contrary to the theory, the lowest income reporter audited rule yielded higher compliance behavior than the optimal cut-off rule in the experiment, even after controlling for social norms regarding tax payment perceived by the subjects. This empirical finding is practically important because the tax authorities in most countries assign higher priority to enhancing tax compliance. |
| Keywords: | audit scheme; tax evasion; laboratory experiment; cut-off rule; lowest income reporter audited rule |
| JEL: | C91 C92 D81 H26 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kyo:wpaper:958&r=pbe |
| By: | Bergner, Sören Martin; Bräutigam, Rainer; Evers, Maria Theresia; Spengel, Christoph |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses the impact and the appropriateness of tax incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union. First, we provide a survey of implemented tax incentives specifically targeted at SMEs in the 28 EU Member States. Building hereon, we measure the impact of these regimes on the effective tax burdens of targeted companies. We find that SME tax incentives are a commonly used measure among European policy makers. The vast majority of regimes, however, only marginally reduce the tax liability of SMEs. If major reliefs are available, they mostly stem from special tax rates whereas tax credits and special allowance play a minor role. In the second main part of the analysis, we examine the arguments potentially justifying the usage of SME tax incentives. As a main result, small firms per se do not create more jobs and innovations nor do they face insurmountable financing constraints. The existence of market failures commonly associated with SMEs - and possibly warranting the use of SME tax incentives - can therefore not be confirmed. Instead, disproportionate tax compliance costs for small entities constitute the most compelling argument for a special tax treatment. These compliance costs can most appropriately be addressed by administrative reliefs. Special tax rates, tax credits and allowances, in contrast, are not only inefficient but also ineffective in this regard. Instead of improving the neutrality of the overall tax system, the latter are likely to add further distortions and unnecessary complexity. Altogether, the focus of policy-makers should thus shift from providing discriminatory incentives to the design of a generally neutral and simple tax system, which would benefit small as well as large enterprises. |
| Keywords: | SME,Tax Policy,European Union |
| JEL: | H24 H25 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:17006&r=pbe |
| By: | Yilmazkuday, Hakan (Florida International University) |
| Abstract: | Using varieties of a rich model that considers sectoral heterogeneity and input-output linkages, this paper shows that the overall welfare gains of a region within a country can be decomposed into domestic versus international welfare gains from trade. Empirical results based on state-level data from the U.S. suggest that about 91 percent of the overall welfare gains of a state are due to domestic trade with other states, on average across alternative model specifications, with a range between 72 percent and 99 percent across states. When national-level data are used for the U.S., international welfare gains are shown to be almost identical to the those obtained by the aggregation of state-level results, suggesting that one can use the implications of a region-level analysis to have national-level results based on welfare gains from trade. We use this implication to propose an approximation to measure the domestic welfare gains from trade when domestic trade data are not available. Accordingly, using the implications of the model introduced, a Dispersion of Economic Activity Index (DEAI) is introduced that depends on internal distance and elasticity measures. It is empirically shown that DEAI can capture domestic welfare gains from trade within the U.S. when standard internal distance and elasticity measures in the literature are employed. Important policy suggestions follow. |
| Date: | 2017–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:feddgw:298&r=pbe |
| By: | Wolfgang Frimmel; Martin Halla; Jörg Paetzold |
| Abstract: | Does tax evasion run in the family? To answer this question, we study the case of the commuter tax allowance in Austria. This allowance is designed as a step function of the distance between the residence and the workplace, creating sharp discontinuities at each bracket threshold. The distance to these brackets is a strong determinant of compliance since it corresponds to the probability of detection. The match of different administrative data sources allows us to observe actual compliance behavior at the individual level across two generations. To identify the intergenerational causal effect in tax evasion behavior, we use the paternal distance-to-bracket as an instrumental variable for paternal compliance. We find that paternal non-compliance increases children's non-compliance by about 20 percent. |
| Keywords: | tax evasion, tax morale, intergenerational correlation, intergenerational causal effect |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inn:wpaper:2017-01&r=pbe |
| By: | Lazuka, Volha (Department of Economic History, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | Socio-economic inequalities are remarkable in contemporary developed countries and continue to grow. The sources of these phenomena are not understood, and there is no agreement as to when in an individual’s life they originate, from early childhood to adulthood. The literature showing that health in infancy may be an important factor in later-life health and income trajectories is expanding, but empirical evidence is still scarce. This paper is the first to link differences in individual access to better health care during infancy to income and health outcomes in old age. Due to the public health care reform that became one of the first elements of the Swedish welfare state, between 1890 and 1917, all rural areas established local health districts that implemented preventive measures with regard to the spread of infectious diseases. Using administrative longitudinal population data and exploiting exogenous variation in the timing of the implementation of the reform across parishes, we examine whether individuals treated in their infancy have an advantage in old age. Our findings indicate that treatment in the public health care system in infancy leads to a significant reduction in mortality, with the largest effects on cardiovascular diseases and to an increase in individual permanent incomes. The effects are universal across different subpopulations, with somewhat stronger responses among individuals from poor socio-economic backgrounds. |
| Keywords: | Sweden; Life-course; Reform; Early-life; Health District; Mortality; Income |
| JEL: | I14 I15 I38 J26 |
| Date: | 2017–01–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:luekhi:0153&r=pbe |
| By: | Jobarteh, Mustapha |
| Abstract: | Wagner’s law relates the positive nexus between public spending and economic activity, where greater economic activity leads to increased public spending. This paper examines the validity of this hypothesis for The Gambia for the period 1977-2013. Using econometric techniques of ARDL bounds test, Johansen and Juselius (1990) multivariate cointegration test, Granger causality and Toda and Yamamota (1995) Granger non-causality tests, the findings show validity for Wagner’s law for The Gambia. Therefore, the government of the Gambia should channel it’s expenditures toward the productive sectors of economy so as to promote economic growth in the country. |
| Keywords: | Wagner’s law, Bounds test, The Gambia, Granger causality. |
| JEL: | E6 E62 H50 |
| Date: | 2017–01–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:76303&r=pbe |
| By: | St Pierre, Charles |
| Abstract: | A large tax wedge can lead to a dramatic increase in economic efficiency. The market share of 'deadweight loss' produced by a tax wedge consists of inefficient producers and indifferent consumers. The high costs in resources involved in production of the relatively small quantity of 'deadweight loss benefits' can be much more efficiently applied elsewhere in an economy. Because of this increase in efficiency, we find a substantial government sector and its services may be maintained essentially without cost. We also examine the case of regulation induced wedges and deadweight loss, and find comparable results. The case of price floors we find equivocal. Monopoly and comparable economic structures can also result in improved economic efficiency. Because the resultant deterioration of economic performance may be dramatic, tax wedges and regulations already in place should be examined carefully before their removal. |
| Keywords: | social welfare, taxation, tax wedge, regulation, deadweight loss, economic efficiency, opportunity costs |
| JEL: | D6 D61 H21 H23 |
| Date: | 2017–01–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:76547&r=pbe |