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Competition from Low‐wage Countries and the Decline of Corporate Tax Rates: Evidence from European Integration

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  • Michael Overesch
  • Johannes Rincke

Abstract

We exploit the rapid economic integration of Eastern and Western Europe after 1989 as a natural experiment to assess the effect of international competition for mobile capital on corporate tax rates. By means of a series of difference‐in‐difference estimations, we show that Western European countries which have been directly exposed to neighbours in Eastern Europe have reacted to the intensified competition by cutting their corporate tax rates by 8.1 to 10.5 percentage points relative to those countries which do not share a common border with countries in Eastern Europe. It seems that this effect has mainly worked through Eastern European countries offering lower wages and less through competition over corporate tax rates.

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  • Michael Overesch & Johannes Rincke, 2009. "Competition from Low‐wage Countries and the Decline of Corporate Tax Rates: Evidence from European Integration," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(9), pages 1348-1364, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:worlde:v:32:y:2009:i:9:p:1348-1364
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9701.2009.01214.x
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    Cited by:

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    2. Adam, Antonis & Kammas, Pantelis & Lagou, Athina, 2013. "The effect of globalization on capital taxation: What have we learned after 20years of empirical studies?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 199-209.
    3. Sean Mc Auliffe & Georg U. Thunecke & Georg Wamser, 2023. "The Tax-Elasticity of Tangible Fixed Assets: Evidence from Novel Corporate Tax Data," CESifo Working Paper Series 10628, CESifo.
    4. Heimberger, Philipp, 2021. "Corporate tax competition: A meta-analysis," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    5. Osterloh, Steffen & Debus, Marc, 2012. "Partisan politics in corporate taxation," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 192-207.
    6. Janeba, Eckhard & Osterloh, Steffen, 2012. "Tax and the city: A theory of local tax competition and evidence for Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 12-005, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    7. Michael Overesch & Johannes Rincke, 2011. "What Drives Corporate Tax Rates Down? A Reassessment of Globalization, Tax Competition, and Dynamic Adjustment to Shocks," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 113(3), pages 579-602, September.
    8. Johannes Becker & Ronald B. Davies, 2015. "Learning to Tax ?- Interjurisdictional Tax Competition under Incomplete Information," Working Papers 201519, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    9. Mittermaier, Ferdinand & Rincke, Johannes, 2013. "Do countries compensate firms for international wage differentials?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 23-36.
    10. Johannes Becker & Ronald B. Davies, 2013. "Learning and international policy diffusion: the case of corporate tax policy," Working Papers 1319, Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation.

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