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Earnings responses to social security contributions

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  • Neumann, M.

Abstract

This paper utilises the discontinuities induced by earnings caps for social security contributions (SSC) in Germany to analyse the effect of SSC on gross labour earnings. Economic incidence is identified by exploiting an increase of a regional earnings cap of health and long-term care insurance as a natural experiment. Based on administrative data, difference-in-differences models are estimated. I find the burden of SSC is shared equally between employers and employees. An auxiliary analysis studies employment responses to SSC at the intensive margin by a modified bunching approach that is applied to the earnings caps of health and long-term care insurance. Finding employment responses to be negligible supports crucial identifying assumptions of the main analysis. Both results are robust and consistent with a standard partial-equilibrium labour market model.

Suggested Citation

  • Neumann, M., 2017. "Earnings responses to social security contributions," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 55-73.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:49:y:2017:i:c:p:55-73
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2017.10.001
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    Cited by:

    1. Antoine Bozio & Thomas Breda & Julien Grenet, 2017. "Incidence and Behavioural Response to Social Security Contributions: An Analysis of Kink Points in France," De Economist, Springer, vol. 165(2), pages 141-163, June.
    2. Kai-Uwe Müller & Michael Neumann, 2017. "Who Bears the Burden of Social Security Contributions in Germany? Evidence from 35 Years of Administrative Data," De Economist, Springer, vol. 165(2), pages 165-179, June.
    3. Jonathan Deslauriers & Benoit Dostie & Robert Gagné & Jonathan Paré, 2021. "Estimating the impacts of payroll taxes: Evidence from Canadian employer–employee tax data," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(4), pages 1609-1637, November.
    4. Müller, Kai-Uwe & Neumann, Michael, 2015. "How reliable are incidence estimates based on cross-sectional distributions? Evidence from simulations and linked employer-employee data," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 112920, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    5. Andrei Ionut Husman, 2018. "Taxation Of Employees In Romania In 2018. Changes And Its Results On The Country’S Economy," Oradea Journal of Business and Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 3(special), pages 46-55, May.
    6. Nicole Bosch & Maja Micevska-Scharf, 2017. "Who Bears the Burden of Social Security Contributions in the Netherlands? Evidence from Dutch Administrative Data," De Economist, Springer, vol. 165(2), pages 205-224, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social security contributions; Tax incidence; Labour supply elasticities; Labour demand elasticities; Bunching;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H22 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Incidence
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy

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