A Road Map for Efficiently Taxing Heterogeneous Agents

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Karabarbounis, Marios
• 署名单位: Federal Reserve System - USA; Federal Reserve Bank - Richmond
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-MACROECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7707
• DOI: 10.1257/mac.20140274
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: 182-214
• 关键词: life-cycle model; Dynamic optimal taxation; indivisible labor; business-cycle; taxes; insurance; BEHAVIOR; savings; WEALTH; RISK

摘要

This paper characterizes optimal labor income taxes that depend on age, household assets, and filing status (one or two earners) within a life-cycle model with heterogeneous, two-member households. The key innovation is a labor supply elasticity that varies endogenously among households. I find that tax distortions should be hump shaped in age, decrease in household assets, and be lower for joint relative to single filers. Age and assets act as complements within the optimal tax policy. Overall, a tax system using all three tags can increase consumption up to 6.4 percent and welfare up to 1.5 percent.