Analysing the Effects of Tax-benefit Reforms on Income Distribution: A decomposition Approach
Abstract
To assess the impact of tax-benefit policy changes on income distribution over time, we suggest a decomposition methodology based on counterfactual simulations. First, it provides an absolute measure of the impact of tax-benefit changes on inequality, which combines changes in policy structure (rules, rates, etc.) and changes in monetary parameters (benefit amounts, tax bands, etc.) against a distributionally-neutral benchmark, i.e., a situation where monetary parameters are nominally adjusted in line with income growth. We apply this measure to analyze the effect of recent policy changes in twelve European countries. Secondly, we focus on France and Ireland to assess the relative role of policy changes compared to changes in pre-tax income (distribution, composition, demographic structure, etc.). We conduct this exercise for a battery of poverty and inequality measures and check the sensitivity of the results to the decomposition order.Download Info
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Paper provided by Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in its series Papers with number WP197.Length: 15 pages
Date of creation: May 2007
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp197
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Related research
Keywords: tax-benefit policy; inequality; poverty; decomposition; microsimulation;Other versions of this item:
- Olivier Bargain & Tim Callan, 2010. "Analysing the effects of tax-benefit reforms on income distribution: a decomposition approach," Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-21, March.
- Olivier Bargain & Tim Callan, 2007. "Analysing the Effects of Tax-benefit Reforms on Income Distribution - A Decomposition Approach," Working Papers 200713, School Of Economics, University College Dublin.
- Olivier Bargain & Tim Callan, 2007. "Analysing the Effects of Tax-benefit Reforms on Income Distribution: A Decomposition Approach," Working Papers 200728, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
- Bargain, Olivier & Callan, Tim, 2007. "Analysing the effects of tax-benefit reforms on income distribution: a decomposition approach," EUROMOD Working Papers EM5/07, EUROMOD at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.
- Bargain, Olivier & Callan, Tim, 2007. "Analysing the Effects of Tax-Benefit Reforms on Income Distribution: A Decomposition Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 3078, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
- H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
- I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-ALL-2007-08-14 (All new papers)
- NEP-PBE-2007-08-14 (Public Economics)
- NEP-PUB-2007-08-14 (Public Finance)
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