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Disentangling income inequality and the redistributive effect of taxes and transfers in 20 LIS countries over time

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  • Caminada, Koen
  • Goudswaard, Kees
  • Wang, Chen

Abstract

In most OECD countries the gap between rich and poor has widened over the past decades. This paper analyzes whether and to what extent taxes and social transfers have contributed to this trend. Has the redistributive power of different social programs changed over time? The paper contributes to the literature by disentangling several parts of fiscal redistribution in a comparative setting. We use micro-data from the Luxembourg Income Study to examine household market inequality, redistribution from transfers and taxes, and the underlying social programs that drive the changes, for 20 countries from the mid-1980s to mid-2000s. The contribution of each program is estimated using a sequential accounting budget incidence decomposition technique. The aim of this paper is to offer detailed information on the redistributive impact of social transfer programs. We focus on changes in fiscal redistribution of 13 different social programs and taxes. We observe a sizeable increase in primary household inequality in all 20 countries over the last 25 years (except Ireland). In most countries, the extent of redistribution has increased too. Tax-benefit systems have offset two-third of the average increase in primary income inequality, although they appear to have become less effective in doing so since the mid-1990s. We find that the public old age pensions and the survivors scheme attribute 60 percent to the increase of redistribution during the period 1985-2005 for a subset of countries considered (with full tax/benefit information). Social assistance accounts for 20 percent, and the benefits for sickness, disease, and disability account for around 13 percent of the total increase in redistribution. Other transfers (invalid career benefits, education benefits, child care cash benefits and other child and family benefits) account for 22 percent of the total increase in redistribution. On the contrary, taxes slowed down redistribution by 17 percent during 1985-2005.

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  • Caminada, Koen & Goudswaard, Kees & Wang, Chen, 2012. "Disentangling income inequality and the redistributive effect of taxes and transfers in 20 LIS countries over time," MPRA Paper 42350, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:42350
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    2. Jaejoon Woo, 2023. "The long-run determinants of redistribution: evidence from a panel of 47 countries in 1967–2014," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 64(4), pages 1811-1860, April.
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    5. Stefan Thewissen & Chen Wang & Olaf van Vliet, 2013. "Sectoral trends in earnings inequality and employment International trade, skill-biased technological change, or labour market institutions?," LIS Working papers 595, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    6. Suresh Babu, M. & Bhaskaran, Vandana & Venkatesh, Manasa, 2016. "Does inequality hamper long run growth? Evidence from Emerging Economies," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 99-113.
    7. Alina Georgeta AILINCA, 2019. "Discretionary Versus Automatic Stabilization In Relation To Indicators Associated With Nominal Economic Convergence Criteria," Contemporary Economy Journal, Constantin Brancoveanu University, vol. 4(1), pages 102-109.
    8. Foellmi, Reto & Martinez, Isabel Z., 2017. "Die Verteilung von Einkommen und Vermögen in der Schweiz [The Distribution of Income and Wealth in Switzerland]," MPRA Paper 84443, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Mitja ÄŒok & Ivica Urban & Miroslav VerbiÄ, 2013. "Income Redistribution through Taxes and Social Benefits: The Case of Slovenia and Croatia," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 60(5), pages 667-686, September.
    10. Farhad Taghizadeh‐Hesary & Naoyuki Yoshino & Sayoko Shimizu, 2020. "The impact of monetary and tax policy on income inequality in Japan," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(10), pages 2600-2621, October.
    11. Salvatore Morelli & Timothy Smeeding & Jeffrey Thompson, 2014. "Post-1970 Trends in Within-Country Inequality and Poverty: Rich and Middle Income Countries," CSEF Working Papers 356, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    12. Vanda Almeida, 2020. "Income Inequality and Redistribution in the Aftermath of the 2007-2008 Crisis: The U.S. Case," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 73(1), pages 77-114, March.
    13. Arjan de Haan, 2013. "The Social Policies of Emerging Economies: Growth and Welfare in China and India," Working Papers 110, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
    14. Sebastiano Fadda, 2015. "What to do about income inequality," Argomenti, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Department of Economics, Society & Politics, vol. 1(1), pages 1-19, May-Augus.
    15. Jaejoon Woo, 2020. "Inequality, redistribution, and growth: new evidence on the trade-off between equality and efficiency," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 58(6), pages 2667-2707, June.
    16. Hakki Hakan Yilmaz & Ali Sertaç Kanaci, 2021. "Redistribution, Growth and Productivity Relationship in Fiscal Policy in Core and Peripheral Countries," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 238(3), pages 61-79, September.
    17. Koen Caminada & Jinxian Wang & Kees Goudswaard & Chen Wang, 2019. "Relative Income Poverty Rates and Poverty Alleviation via Tax/benefit Systems in 49 LIS-Countries, 1967-2016," LIS Working papers 761, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    18. Sebastiano Fadda, "undated". "Income Inequality. What Causes It And How To Curb It," Working Papers 0014, ASTRIL - Associazione Studi e Ricerche Interdisciplinari sul Lavoro.
    19. Christina Behrendt & John Woodall, 2015. "Pensions and other social security income transfers," Chapters, in: Janine Berg (ed.), Labour Markets, Institutions and Inequality, chapter 9, pages 242-262, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    20. Koen Caminada & Jinxian Wang & Kees Goudswaard & Chen Wang, 2017. "Income inequality and fiscal redistribution in 47 LIS-countries, 1967-2014," LIS Working papers 724, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    21. Filgueira, Fernando & Rossel, Cecilia, 2017. "Confronting inequality: Social protection for families and early childhood through monetary transfers and care worldwide," Políticas Sociales 43158, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    welfare states; social income transfers; inequality; Gini coefficient; LIS;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

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