Status-seeking, income taxation and efficiency

• 成果类型: Article; Proceedings Paper
• 署名作者: Ireland, NJ
• 署名单位: University of Warwick
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/S0047-2727(98)00062-0
• 发表日期: 1998
• 页码: 99-113
• 关键词: status; signalling; income tax

摘要

It is well-known that status-seeking produces distortions in consumption. Competition to achieve status leads to over-consumption of those goods which confer status. It has been found that taxing such goods may even lead to Pareto improvements. In this paper we extend a model of status, which relies on a signalling equilibrium approach, to include the individual labour supply decision and an income tax. We show that a Pareto-improving income tax can exist even with the simplest tax/benefit scheme. A number of results follow. The model is extended to a two-period analysis, to accommodate the reputation-building element of status achievement, without altering the conclusions. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.