In this paper we test a particular form of interdependent behaviour, namely the hypothesis that individuals' choices of hours of work are influenced by the average hours of work in a social reference group. There are problems in empirically disentangling the effects of interdependent behaviour and preference variation across groups. We show that panel data or data from several points in time are needed. In the empirical analysis we combine cross-section data from 1973, 1980, and 1990. Our results support the hypothesis of interdependent behaviour. The implication is that conventional tax policy predictions, in which preference interdependencies are neglected, will tend to underestimate the effect of a tax reform on hours of work. Our point estimates suggest that conventional calculations would capture only about a third of the actual change in hours of work.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Volume (Year): 14 (1999) Issue (Month): 6 (Nov.-Dec.) Pages: 607-26 Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML
(with abstract),
plain text
(with abstract),
BibTeX,
RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite),
ReDIF
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)
Marie-Claire Villeval & Bernard Fortin & Guy Lacroix, 2005.
"Tax Evasion and Social Interactions,"
Working Papers
0410, Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique (GATE), Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Université Lyon 2, Ecole Normale Supérieure.
[Downloadable!]
Other versions:
Andrew Clark & Davis Masclet & Marie-Claire Villeval, 2006.
"Effort and Comparison Income : Survey and Experimental Evidence,"
Working Papers
0601, Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique (GATE), Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Université Lyon 2, Ecole Normale Supérieure.
[Downloadable!]