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Workers' Spending Response to the 2011 Payroll Tax Cuts

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  • Grant Graziani
  • Wilbert van der Klaauw
  • Basit Zafar

Abstract

This paper investigates workers' spending response to the 2011 payroll tax cuts. Respondents were surveyed at the beginning and end of 2011, which allows the comparison of ex ante and ex post reported use of the extra income. While workers on average intended to spend 14 percent of their tax cut income, they ex post reported spending 36 percent of the funds. This pattern of higher spending ex post is shared across all demographic groups. Differences across workers in this shift to greater ex post spending are largely unexplained by differences in either present bias or unanticipated shocks, so in the end the upward revision in spending remains a puzzle.

Suggested Citation

  • Grant Graziani & Wilbert van der Klaauw & Basit Zafar, 2016. "Workers' Spending Response to the 2011 Payroll Tax Cuts," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 124-159, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejpol:v:8:y:2016:i:4:p:124-59
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/pol.20140065
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    Cited by:

    1. Jonathan A. Parker & Nicholas S. Souleles, 2017. "Reported Effects vs. Revealed-Preference Estimates: Evidence from the propensity to spend tax rebates," NBER Working Papers 23920, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Tullio Jappelli & Luigi Pistaferri, 2020. "Reported MPC and Unobserved Heterogeneity," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 275-297, November.
    3. Christelis, Dimitris & Georgarakos, Dimitris & Jappelli, Tullio & Pistaferri, Luigi & Rooij, Maarten van, 2021. "Heterogeneous wealth effects," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    4. Dimitris Christelis & Dimitris Georgarakos & Tullio Jappelli & Luigi Pistaferri & Maarten van Rooij, 2019. "Wealth Shocks and MPC Heterogeneity," NBER Working Papers 25999, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Nygaard, Vegard M. & Sørensen, Bent E. & Wang, Fan, 2022. "Optimal allocations to heterogeneous agents with an application to stimulus checks," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    6. Jonathan A. Parker & Nicholas S. Souleles, 2019. "Reported Effects versus Revealed-Preference Estimates: Evidence from the Propensity to Spend Tax Rebates," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 1(3), pages 273-290, December.
    7. Andreas Fuster & Greg Kaplan & Basit Zafar, 2021. "What Would You Do with $500? Spending Responses to Gains, Losses, News, and Loans [The Spending and Debt Response to Minimum Wage Hikes]," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(4), pages 1760-1795.
    8. Crossley, Thomas F. & Fisher, Paul & Levell, Peter & Low, Hamish, 2023. "Stimulus payments and private transfers," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    9. Cameron LAPOINT & UNAYAMA Takashi, 2020. "Winners, Losers, and Near-Rationality: Heterogeneity in the MPC out of a Large Stimulus Tax Rebate," Discussion papers 20067, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household

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