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作者：Fuest, C; Huber, B
作者单位：University of Cologne; University of Munich
摘要：In the European Union and in many federal and non-federal countries, the central government pays subsidies to poor regions. These subsidies are often seen as a redistributive measure which comes at the cost of an efficiency loss. This paper develops an economic rationale for regional policy based on economic efficiency. We consider a model of a federation consisting of a rich and a poor region. The economy is characterized by imperfect competition in goods markets and unemployment. Firms initi...
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作者：Cremer, Helmuth; Gahvari, Firouz; Pestieau, Pierre
作者单位：Universite de Toulouse; University of Illinois System; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; University of Liege; University of Liege
摘要：This paper studies the design of a pay-as-you-go social security system in an overlapping generations model where fertility is in part stochastic and in part determined through capital investment. If investments are publicly observable, pension benefits must be linked positively to the level of investment, and payroll taxes negatively to the number of children. The outcome is characterized by full insurance with all parents, regardless of their number of children, enjoying identical consumptio...
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作者：Gahvari, F
作者单位：University of Illinois System; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
摘要：This paper argues that, in models with heterogeneous agents, the concept of the marginal cost of public funds (MCPF) will only be useful if it is compared with an analogous concept for the benefit side. The MCPF does not assume a unique value and is not particularly illuminating in and out of itself Also gone is the benchmark status of MCPF = 1. Turning to the provision of public goods, using a mechanism design approach, the paper constructs a two-stage proof for Kaplow's [kaplow, L., 1996. Th...
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作者：Romanov, Dmitri
摘要：Shifting of income between the corporate and the personal income tax bases in response to tax incentives is the premise of the literature on taxation and organizational form. Empirical evidence of income shifting is, however, merely circumstantial. Using a unique panel of high-frequency VAT data from Israel, we trace the footprints of income shifting through incorporation by high-income individuals who convert their labor income into less-taxed dividends. A rise in the personal income tax rate...
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作者：Azomahou, Theophile; Laisney, Francois; Van, Phu Nguyen
作者单位：Universites de Strasbourg Etablissements Associes; Universite de Strasbourg; Leibniz Association; Zentrum fur Europaische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW); CY Cergy Paris Universite
摘要：We examine the empirical relation between CO2 emissions per capita and GDP per capita during the period 1960-1996, using a panel of 100 countries. Relying on the nonparametric poolability test of Baltagi et al. [Baltagi, B.H., Hidalgo, J., Li, Q., 1996. A nonparametric test for poolability using panel data, Journal of Econometrics 75, 345-367], we find evidence of structural stability of the relationship. We then specify a nonparametric panel data model with country-specific effects. Estimatio...
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作者：Polinsky, AM
作者单位：Stanford University; National Bureau of Economic Research
摘要：This article studies the optimal use of fines and imprisonment when an offender's level of wealth cannot be observed by the enforcement authority. I employ a model in which there are two types of offenders-a low-wealth type and a high-wealth type. The consequence of the unobservability of wealth depends on whether the enforcement authority would employ fines alone, or would also impose imprisonment sentences, if wealth were observable. In the former case, the inability to observe wealth lowers...
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作者：Buettner, T
作者单位：Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut; University of Munich
摘要：A theoretical analysis considers the impact of a typical system of redistributive fiscal equalizatioty' transfers on the tax effort of local jurisdictions. More specifically, it shows that the marginal contribution rate, i.e. the rate at which an increase in the tax base reduces those transfers, might be positively associated with the local tax rate while the volume of grants received is likely to be inversely related to the tax rate. These predictions are tested in an empirical analysis of th...
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作者：Bhattacharya, J; Lakdawalla, D
作者单位：National Bureau of Economic Research; Stanford University; RAND Corporation
摘要：Measuring the progressivity of age-targeted government programs is difficult because no single data set measures income and benefit use throughout life. Previous research, using zip code as a proxy for lifetime income, has found that Medicare benefits flow primarily to the most economically advantaged groups, and that the financial returns to Medicare are often higher for the rich than the poor. However, our analysis produces the starkly opposed result that Medicare is an extraordinarily progr...
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作者：Figlio, DN; Rouse, CE
作者单位：Princeton University; State University System of Florida; University of Florida; National Bureau of Economic Research
摘要：We study the effects of the threat of vouchers and stigma in Florida on the performance of low-performing ' schools. Estimates of the change in raw test scores from the first year of the reform are consistent with the early results which claimed large improvements associated with the threat of vouchers. However, we also find that much of this estimated effect may be due to other factors. The relative gains in reading are largely explained by changing student characteristics and the gains in ma...
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作者：McClellan, M; Skinner, J
作者单位：Dartmouth College; Stanford University; National Bureau of Economic Research
摘要：The Medicare program transfers nearly $300 billion annually from taxpayers to beneficiaries. This paper considers the incidence of such transfers in the context of a life cycle model with uncertainty about future health care expenditures. We find the distributional consequences of the Medicare program are roughly neutral in dollar terms; households living in high income neighborhoods pay more in taxes, but they also receive more in benefits. These dollar flows, however, ignore the insurance va...
