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The effect of taxation on informal employment: evidence from the Russian flat tax reform

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  • Slonimczyk, Fabian

Abstract

The 2001 Russian tax reform reduced average tax rates for the personal income tax and the payroll or social tax. It also made the tax structure more regressive. Because individuals in the lower income bracket were for the most part not affected, it is possible to estimate the effects of the reform using a differences-in-differences approach. I study the effect of the reform on informal employment. Informality is defined using information on employment registration and self-employment. Applying parametric and semi-parametric techniques, I find evidence that the tax reform led to a significant reduction in the fraction of informal employees. Among the different forms of informality I study, the reform seems to have had the strongest effect on the prevalence of informal irregular activities. I also document stronger effects on individuals who benefited from the largest reductions in tax rates.

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  • Slonimczyk, Fabian, 2011. "The effect of taxation on informal employment: evidence from the Russian flat tax reform," MPRA Paper 35404, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:35404
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Fabián Slonimczyk, 2022. "Informal employment in emerging and transition economies," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-59, March.
    2. Anna Lukiyanova, 2015. "Earnings inequality and informal employment in Russia," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 23(2), pages 469-516, April.
    3. Alexander Libman & Janis N. Kluge, 2017. "Sticks or Carrots? Comparing Effectiveness of Government Shadow Economy Policies in Russia," Working Papers 364, Leibniz Institut für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung (Institute for East and Southeast European Studies).
    4. H. Lehmann & A. Zaiceva, 2013. "Informal Employment in Russia: Incidence, Determinants and Labor Market Segmentation," Working Papers wp903, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    5. Cristina Fernández & Leonardo Villar, 2016. "A Taxonomy of Colombia’s Informal Labor Market," Coyuntura Económica, Fedesarrollo, vol. 46(1), pages 15-50, June.
    6. Jessen, Jonas & Kluve, Jochen, 2021. "The effectiveness of interventions to reduce informality in low- and middle-income countries," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 138.
    7. Muravyev, Alexander & Oshchepkov, Aleksey, 2013. "Minimum Wages, Unemployment and Informality: Evidence from Panel Data on Russian Regions," IZA Discussion Papers 7878, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. repec:zbw:bofitp:2018_007 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Janis N. Kluge & Alexander Libman, 2018. "Sticks or Carrots? Comparing Effectiveness of Government Informal Economy Policies in Russia," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 60(4), pages 605-637, December.
    10. Bartha, Zoltán, 2014. "Mid-term Effects of the Flat Rate Personal Income Tax in Hungary," MPRA Paper 61890, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Karine Torosyan & Randall K. Filer, 2014. "Tax reform in Georgia and the size of the shadow economy," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 22(1), pages 179-210, January.
    12. Francesconi, Marco & Slonimczyk, Fabian & Yurko, Anna, 2017. "Moving On Up for High School Graduates in Russia: The Consequences of the Uni ed State Exam Reform," CEPR Discussion Papers 11996, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. H. Lehmann & A. Muravyev, 2012. "Labor Market Institutions and Informality in Transition and Latin American Countries," Working Papers wp854, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    14. Hartmut Lehmann & Anzelika Zaiceva, 2013. "Informal Employment in Russia: Definitions, Incidence, Determinants and Labour Market Segmentation," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1098, OECD Publishing.
    15. Francisco Fernández López, 2017. "Impacto de la informalidad laboral sobre el acceso a crédito formal," Coyuntura Económica, Fedesarrollo, vol. 47(1 y 2), pages 169-204, December.
    16. Miriam Bruhn & Jan Loeprick, 2016. "Small business tax policy and informality: evidence from Georgia," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 23(5), pages 834-853, October.
    17. Fabián Slonimczyk & Vladimir Gimpelson, 2015. "Informality and mobility," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 23(2), pages 299-341, April.
    18. Dmitry Fedotov, 2021. "Tax burden and shadow economy growth in Russian regions," Journal of Tax Reform, Graduate School of Economics and Management, Ural Federal University, vol. 7(3), pages 284-301.
    19. Slonimczyk, Fabian & Gimpelson, Vladimir, 2013. "Informality and Mobility: Evidence from Russian Panel Data," IZA Discussion Papers 7703, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Marques II, Israel, 2018. "Firms and social policy preferences under weak institutions : Evidence from Russia," BOFIT Discussion Papers 7/2018, Bank of Finland, Institute for Economies in Transition.
    21. Lehmann, Hartmut & Zaiceva, Anzelika, 2013. "Re-defining Informal Employment and Measuring its Determinants: Evidence from Russia," IZA Discussion Papers 7844, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    22. Natalia Leonidovna Simutina & Nikolay Nikolaevich Leventov & Olga Petrovna Puzikova, 2018. "The Impact of Economic Factors on the Employment Rate in the Informal Sector: Regional Aspect," Spatial Economics=Prostranstvennaya Ekonomika, Economic Research Institute, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (Khabarovsk, Russia), issue 1, pages 83-100.
    23. Hazans, Mihails, 2011. "Informal Workers across Europe: Evidence from 30 Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 5871, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    informal sector; entrepreneurship; tax reform; difference-in-difference; transition; Russia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • P2 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies

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