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Income Assistance and Aggregate Disposable Income

Author

Listed:
  • Illoong Kwon

    (Seoul National University)

Abstract

This paper provides a simple theoretical model to analyze how income assistance affects the aggregate disposable income of recipients when a government cannot observe the recipients’ earning capabilities. If the recipients’ earning capabilities are uniformly distributed, means-tested linear income assistance benefits do not affect their aggregate disposable income, regardless of the size or reduction rates of the distributed benefits. Under a realistic distribution of earning capabilities, their aggregate disposable income can even decrease.

Suggested Citation

  • Illoong Kwon, 2024. "Income Assistance and Aggregate Disposable Income," Korean Economic Review, Korean Economic Association, vol. 40, pages 195-218.
  • Handle: RePEc:kea:keappr:ker-20240101-40-1-07
    as

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    File URL: http://keapaper.kea.ne.kr/RePEc/kea/keappr/KER-20240101-40-1-07.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Emmanuel Saez & Joel Slemrod & Seth H. Giertz, 2012. "The Elasticity of Taxable Income with Respect to Marginal Tax Rates: A Critical Review," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(1), pages 3-50, March.
    2. J. A. Mirrlees, 1971. "An Exploration in the Theory of Optimum Income Taxation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 38(2), pages 175-208.
    3. Moffitt, Robert A., 2002. "Welfare programs and labor supply," Handbook of Public Economics, in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 34, pages 2393-2430, Elsevier.
    4. Emmanuel Saez, 2002. "Optimal Income Transfer Programs: Intensive versus Extensive Labor Supply Responses," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(3), pages 1039-1073.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Income Assistance; Disposable Income; Moral Hazard; Adverse Selection;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General

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