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Market Work, Home Work and Taxes: A Cross Country Analysis

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  • Richard Rogerson

Abstract

This paper uses a simple model of labor supply extended to allow for home production to understand the extent to which differences in taxes can account for differences in time allocations between the US and Europe. Once home production is included, the elasticity of substitution between consumption and leisure is almost irrelevant in determining the response of market hours to higher taxes. But to account for observed differences in leisure and time spent in home production, one requires a large elasticity of substitution between consumption and leisure, and a small elasticity of substituion betwen time and goods in home production.

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  • Richard Rogerson, 2008. "Market Work, Home Work and Taxes: A Cross Country Analysis," NBER Working Papers 14400, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14400
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    1. Alexander Bick & Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln, 2018. "Taxation and Labour Supply of Married Couples across Countries: A Macroeconomic Analysis," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 85(3), pages 1543-1576.
    2. Karabarbounis, Loukas, 2010. "Labor wedges and open economy puzzles," MPRA Paper 31370, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln & Alexander Bick, 2014. "Taxation and Labor Supply of Married Women across Countries: A Macroeconomic Analysis," 2014 Meeting Papers 321, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    4. Kabátek, Jan & van Soest, Arthur & Stancanelli, Elena, 2014. "Income taxation, labour supply and housework: A discrete choice model for French couples," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 30-43.
    5. Margit Schratzenstaller & Fanny Dellinger, 2017. "Genderdifferenzierte Lenkungswirkungen des Abgabensystems," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 60797, February.
    6. Dotsey, Michael & Li, Wenli & Yang, Fang, 2015. "Home production and Social Security reform," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 131-150.
    7. Boragan Aruoba & Morris Davis & Randall Wright, 2016. "Homework in Monetary Economics: Inflation, Home Production, and the Production of Homes," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 21, pages 105-124, July.
    8. Fehr, Hans & Kallweit, Manuel & Kindermann, Fabian, 2017. "Families and social security," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 30-56.
    9. Germán Cubas, 2010. "Distortions, Infraestructure and Labor Supply in Latin American Countries," Documentos de trabajo 2010007, Banco Central del Uruguay.
    10. Hans Fehr & Manuel Kallweit & Fabian Kindermann, 2013. "Reforming Family Taxation in Germany - Labor Supply vs. Insurance Effects," CESifo Working Paper Series 4386, CESifo.
    11. van Soest, Arthur & Stancanelli, Elena G. F., 2010. "Does Income Taxation Affect Partners' Household Chores?," IZA Discussion Papers 5038, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Brendan Epstein & Miles S. Kimball, 2014. "The Decline of Drudgery and the Paradox of Hard Work," International Finance Discussion Papers 1106, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    13. Ek, Andreas, 2021. "Cross-country differences in preferences for leisure," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    14. Thomas Leoni & Margit Schratzenstaller, 2020. "Senkung der Lohnnebenkosten und Finanzierungsvarianten. Bisherige Erkenntnisse und internationale Reformbeispiele," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 66851, February.
    15. Athreya, Kartik B., 2014. "Big Ideas in Macroeconomics: A Nontechnical View," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262019736, December.
    16. Kabátek, Jan, 2015. "Essays on public policy and household decision making," Other publications TiSEM 8cdb178e-ad98-42e5-a7e1-b, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    17. Gómez, Manuel A., 2016. "Are taxes a good predictor of time use patterns? Examining the role of some key elasticities," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 394-400.
    18. Cubas, German, 2016. "Distortions, infrastructure, and female labor supply in developing countries," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 194-215.
    19. Margit Schratzenstaller & Fanny Dellinger, 2018. "Genderdifferenzierte Lenkungswirkungen des Abgabensystems auf das Arbeitsangebot," WIFO Monatsberichte (monthly reports), WIFO, vol. 91(2), pages 105-120, February.
    20. Shirai, Daichi & Nagamachi, Kohei & Eguchi, Naotaka, 2012. "The Impacts of Firms' Technology Choice on the Gender Differences in Wage and Time Allocation: A Cross-Country Analysis," MPRA Paper 56666, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 13 Jun 2014.
    21. Tito Boeri & Jan van Ours, 2013. "The Economics of Imperfect Labor Markets: Second Edition," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10142.
    22. Hansen, G.D. & Ohanian, L.E., 2016. "Neoclassical Models in Macroeconomics," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & Harald Uhlig (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 2043-2130, Elsevier.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E60 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - General
    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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