Optimal taxation and cross-price effects on labor supply: Estimates of the optimal gas tax

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: West, Sarah E.; Williams, Roberton C., III
• 署名单位: University of Texas System; University of Texas Austin; Macalester College; University of Texas System; University of Texas Austin
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2006.08.007
• 发表日期: 2007
• 页码: 593-617
• 关键词: Optimal taxation; gasoline; labor supply; second-best environmental taxes; demand system

摘要

This study estimates parameters necessary to calculate the optimal second-best gasoline tax, most notably the cross-price elasticity between gasoline and leisure. Prior theoretical work indicates the importance of this elasticity, but despite this, almost none of the prior studies of commodity taxation (and none of the studies on second-best environmental regulation) actually estimate it. Using household data, we find that gasoline is a relative complement to leisure, and thus that the optimal gasoline tax is significantly higher than marginal damages-the opposite of the result suggested by the bulk of the prior literature. Indeed, even if there were no externalities at all associated with gasoline, the optimal tax rate would still be almost equal to the average gas tax rate in the U.S. Following this approach to estimate cross-price elasticities with leisure could strongly influence estimates of optimal rates for other important commodity or pollution taxes. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.