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Do regional payroll tax reductions boost employment?

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Author Info
Bennmarker, Helge () (IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation)
Mellander, Erik () (IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation)
Öckert, Björn () (IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation)
Abstract

Using a Difference-in-Differences approach we evaluate the effects of a 10 percentage points reduction in the payroll tax introduced in 2002 for firms in the northern part of Sweden. We find no employment effects for existing firms and can rule out that a 1 percentage point payroll tax reduction would increase employment with more than 0.2 percent. We do, however, find that tax reductions have significantly positive effects on the average wage bill per employee. These are likely to be driven by higher average wages, but might also be due to more hours worked. As a sensitivity check we investigate if reduced payroll taxes affect the likelihood of firm entry and exit, and find some support for a net firm inflow. Our attempts to assess concomitant effects on employment indicate that payroll tax reductions might yield increases in employment through the start-up of new firms.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation in its series Working Paper Series with number 2008:19.

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Length: 33 pages
Date of creation: 05 Sep 2008
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2008_019

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Related research
Keywords: Payroll tax; Labour demand; Incidence; Firm entry/exit; Difference-in-Differences;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
H22 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Incidence
J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
J58 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Public Policy
J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Public Policy

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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.:
  1. Johansen, F. & Klette, T.J., 1998. "Wage and Employment Effects of Payroll Taxes and Investment Subsidies," Memorandum 27/1998, Oslo University, Department of Economics.
    Other versions:
  2. Anderson, Patricia M. & Meyer, Bruce D., 1997. "The effects of firm specific taxes and government mandates with an application to the U.S. unemployment insurance program," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 119-145, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Gruber, Jonathan, 1997. "The Incidence of Payroll Taxation: Evidence from Chile," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(3), pages S72-101, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Holmlund, Bertil, 1983. " Payroll Taxes and Wage Inflation: The Swedish Experience," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 85(1), pages 1-15.
  5. Davis, Steven J & Haltiwanger, John C, 1992. "Gross Job Creation, Gross Job Destruction, and Employment Reallocation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 107(3), pages 819-63, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
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