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From Welfare to Work: Evaluating a Tax and Benefit Reform Targeted at Single Mothers in Sweden

Author

Listed:
  • Lennart Flood
  • Roger Wahlberg
  • Elina Pylkkänen

Abstract

. In this paper we evaluate a hypothetical tax and benefit reform to increase the working hours and to decrease welfare participation of single mothers in Sweden. We formulate and estimate simultaneously a structural static model of labor supply and welfare participation. The results suggest that labor supply among single mother households in Sweden is quite elastic, and that there is self‐selection into welfare. We also find that the proposed reform would generate welfare gains for virtually everyone in the sample, benefit low‐income households, and would at the same time generate a small revenue surplus.

Suggested Citation

  • Lennart Flood & Roger Wahlberg & Elina Pylkkänen, 2007. "From Welfare to Work: Evaluating a Tax and Benefit Reform Targeted at Single Mothers in Sweden," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 21(3), pages 443-471, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:labour:v:21:y:2007:i:3:p:443-471
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9914.2007.00386.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Edin, P.-A. & Fredriksson, P., 2000. "LINDA - Longitudinal INdividual DAta for Sweden," Papers 2000:19, Uppsala - Working Paper Series.
    2. Richard Blundell & Alan Duncan & Julian McCrae & Costas Meghir, 2000. "The labour market impact of the working families’ tax credit," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 21(1), pages 75-103, March.
    3. Graversen, E.K., 1996. "Male and Female labour Supply in Damark," Papers 96-15, Centre for Labour Market and Social Research, Danmark-.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ericson, Peter & Flood, Lennart & Wahlberg, Roger, 2009. "SWEtaxben: A Swedish Tax/benefit Micro Simulation Model and an Evaluation of a Swedish Tax Reform," Working Papers in Economics 346, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    2. Soren Blomquist & Anil Kumar & Che-Yuan Liang & Whitney K. Newey, 2014. "Individual heterogeneity, nonlinear budget sets, and taxable income," CeMMAP working papers 21/14, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    3. Brink, Anna & Nordblom, Katarina & Wahlberg, Roger, 2007. "Maximum fee vs child benefit: A welfare analysis of Swedish child-care fee reform," Working Papers in Economics 250, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    4. Löffler, Max & Peichl, Andreas & Siegloch, Sebastian, 2013. "Validating Structural Labor Supply Models," VfS Annual Conference 2013 (Duesseldorf): Competition Policy and Regulation in a Global Economic Order 79819, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    5. Aaberge, Rolf & Flood, Lennart, 2013. "U.S. versus Sweden: The Effect of Alternative In-Work Tax Credit Policies on Labour Supply of Single Mothers," IZA Discussion Papers 7706, IZA Network @ LISER.
    6. Edmark, Karin & Liang, Che-Yuan & Mörk, Eva & Selin, Håkan, 2012. "Evaluation of the Swedish earned income tax credit," Working Paper Series, Center for Labor Studies 2012:3, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    7. Peter Ericson & Lennart Flood, 2012. "A Microsimulation Approach to an Optimal Swedish Income Tax," International Journal of Microsimulation, International Microsimulation Association, vol. 2(5), pages 2-21.
    8. Aaberge, Rolf & Flood, Lennart, 2008. "Evaluation of an In-Work Tax Credit Reform in Sweden: Effects on Labor Supply and Welfare Participation of Single Mothers," IZA Discussion Papers 3736, IZA Network @ LISER.
    9. Löffler, Max & Peichl, Andreas & Pestel, Nico & Siegloch, Sebastian & Sommer, Eric, 2014. "Documentation IZA?MOD v3.0: The IZA Policy Simulation Model," IZA Discussion Papers 8553, IZA Network @ LISER.
    10. Daniela Andrén & Thomas Andrén, 2016. "Women’s and men’s responses to in-work benefits: the influence of children," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-24, December.
    11. Andrén, Daniela & Andrén, Thomas, 2014. "Women's and men's responses to in-work benefits: The influence of younger children," Working Papers 2014:1, Örebro University, School of Business.
    12. Peter Ericson & Lennart Flood & Nizamul Islam, 2015. "Taxes, wages and working hours," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 503-535, September.
    13. Soren Blomquist & Anil Kumar & Che-Yuan Liang & Whitney K. Newey, 2022. "Nonlinear Budget Set Regressions for the Random Utility Model," Working Papers 2219, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    14. Jukka Pirttilä & Hakan Selin, 2011. "Tax Policy and Employment: How Does the Swedish System Fare?," CESifo Working Paper Series 3355, CESifo.
    15. Maximilian Joseph Blömer & Andreas Peichl, 2020. "The ifo Tax and Transfer Behavioral Microsimulation Model," ifo Working Paper Series 335, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    16. Rolf Aaberge & Ugo Colombino, 2014. "Labour Supply Models," Contributions to Economic Analysis, in: Handbook of Microsimulation Modelling, volume 127, pages 167-221, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    17. Blomquist, Soren & Kumar, Anil & Liang, Che-Yuan & Newey, Whitney K., 2025. "Nonlinear budget set regressions in random utility models: Theory and application to taxable income," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 252(PB).
    18. Loening, Josef L. & Durevall, Dick & Birru, Yohannes A., 2009. "Inflation dynamics and food prices in an agricultural economy : the case of Ethiopia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4969, The World Bank.

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