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Tax Policy and Income Inequality in the United States, 1979-2007

Author

Listed:
  • Olivier Bargain

    (GREQAM - Groupement de Recherche en Économie Quantitative d'Aix-Marseille - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - ECM - École Centrale de Marseille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Mathias Dolls

    (IZA - Institute for the Study of Labor, University of Cologne)

  • Herwig Immervoll
  • Dirk Neumann

    (SNSB - Zoologische Staatssammlung Muenchen)

  • Andreas Peichl

    (IZA - Institute for the Study of Labor, University of Cologne, CESifo - CESifo, ISER - University of Essex)

  • Nico Pestel
  • Sebastian Siegloch

    (IZA - Institute for the Study of Labor, University of Cologne)

Abstract

This paper assesses the effects of U.S. tax policy reforms on inequality over around three decades, from 1979 to 2007. It applies a new method for decomposing changes in government redistribution into (1) a direct policy effect resulting from policy changes and (2) the effects of changing market incomes. Over the period as a whole, the tax policy changes increased income inequality by pushing up the income share of high-income earners (the top 20%). (JEL H23, H31, H53, P16)

Suggested Citation

  • Olivier Bargain & Mathias Dolls & Herwig Immervoll & Dirk Neumann & Andreas Peichl & Nico Pestel & Sebastian Siegloch, 2015. "Tax Policy and Income Inequality in the United States, 1979-2007," Post-Print hal-01457384, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01457384
    DOI: 10.1111/ecin.12172
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Mathias Dolls & Karina Doorley & Alari Paulus & Hilmar Schneider & Eric Sommer, 2019. "Demographic change and the European income distribution," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 17(3), pages 337-357, September.
    2. Thibault Darcillon, 2016. "What Determines Top Income Shares? The Role of the Interactions between Financial Integration and Tax Policy [Le rôle des interactions entre l'intégration financière et la politique fiscale dans la," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-01316927, HAL.
    3. Rod Tyers & Yixiao Zhou, 2023. "Automation and inequality with taxes and transfers," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 70(1), pages 68-100, February.
    4. Ferey, Antoine & Haufler, Andreas & Perroni, Carlo, 2023. "Incentives, globalization, and redistribution," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    5. Immervoll, Herwig & Richardson, Linda, 2011. "Redistribution Policy and Inequality Reduction in OECD Countries: What Has Changed in Two Decades?," IZA Discussion Papers 6030, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Estelle Dauchy & Francisco Navarro-Sanchez & Nathan Seegert, 2021. "Taxation and Inequality: Active and Passive Channels," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 42, pages 156-177, October.
    7. Alari Paulus & Holly Sutherland & Iva Tasseva, 2020. "Indexing Out of Poverty? Fiscal Drag and Benefit Erosion in Cross‐National Perspective," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 66(2), pages 311-333, June.
    8. Henk-Wim de Boer & Egbert Jongen, 2017. "Optimal Income Support for Lone Parents in the Netherlands: Are We There Yet?," CPB Discussion Paper 361, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    9. François Bourguignon, 2018. "World Changes in Inequality: an Overview of Facts, Causes, Consequences, and Policies1," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 64(3), pages 345-370.
    10. Matteo Picchio & Giacomo Valletta, 2018. "A welfare evaluation of the 1986 tax reform for married couples in the United States," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 25(3), pages 757-807, June.
    11. Callan, Tim & Colgan, Brian & Logue, Caitríona & Savage, Michael & Walsh, John R., 2015. "Distributional Impact of Tax, Welfare and Public Service Pay Policies: Budget 2016 and Budgets 2009-2016," Quarterly Economic Commentary: Special Articles, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    12. Nikos Benos & Stelios Karagiannis, 2018. "Inequality And Growth In The United States: Why Physical And Human Capital Matter," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(1), pages 572-619, January.
    13. Bruno Bises & Francesco Bloise & Antonio Scialà, 2024. "Labor share as an "automatic stabilizer" of income inequality," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 31(2), pages 511-532, April.
    14. Giampaolo Arachi & Michele G Giuranno & Paola Profeta, 2018. "Introduction to the Special Issue ‘Inequality and Public Policies’, CESifo Economic Studies 2018," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 64(3), pages 339-344.
    15. Henk-Wim de Boer & Egbert Jongen & Patrick Koot, 2018. "Optimal Taxation of Secondary Earners in the Netherlands: Has Equity Lost Ground?," CPB Discussion Paper 375, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    16. Alari Paulus & Iva Valentinova Tasseva, 2020. "Europe Through the Crisis: Discretionary Policy Changes and Automatic Stabilizers," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 82(4), pages 864-888, August.
    17. Massimo Baldini, 2021. "Redistribution and progressivity of the Italian personal income tax, 40 years later," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(2), pages 345-366, June.
    18. Oliver Hümbelin & Rudolf Farys, 2017. "Redistribution through taxes and deductions. A decomposition analysis with administrative tax data from Switzerland," University of Bern Social Sciences Working Papers 26, University of Bern, Department of Social Sciences.
    19. Jinjing Li & Hai Anh La & Denisa M. Sologon, 2021. "Policy, Demography, and Market Income Volatility: What Shaped Income Distribution and Inequality in Australia Between 2002 and 2016?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 67(1), pages 196-221, March.
    20. Lukas Reiss & Philip Schuster, 2020. "Explaining the evolution of the Austrian implicit tax rate on labor from 1976 to 2016," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 47(2), pages 303-341, May.
    21. Oliver Hümbelin & Rudolf Farys, 2017. "Income redistribution through taxation – how deductions undermine the effect of taxes," Journal of Income Distribution, Ad libros publications inc., vol. 25(1), pages 1-35, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economie quantitative;

    JEL classification:

    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household
    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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