IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/deveco/v88y2009i2p205-216.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fiscal policy and the structure of production in a two-sector developing economy

Author

Listed:
  • Turnovsky, Stephen J.
  • Basher, Md.A.

Abstract

This paper develops a two-sector model of a developing economy and examines the role of the informal sector in limiting the government's ability to increase tax revenues. A key feature is the introduction of auditing of the informal sector and degree of tax enforcement in that sector. We emphasize the interdependence between tax policy and enforcement in achieving a developing economy's fiscal objectives and show that by judicious policy choices the presence of the informal sector need not hinder its ability to raise tax revenues. We supplement the formal analysis with numerical simulations highlighting the contrasting intertemporal tradeoffs implied by higher tax rates and tax-enforcement levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Turnovsky, Stephen J. & Basher, Md.A., 2009. "Fiscal policy and the structure of production in a two-sector developing economy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 205-216, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:88:y:2009:i:2:p:205-216
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304-3878(08)00033-3
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gong, Xiaodong & Van Soest, Arthur & Villagomez, Elizabeth, 2004. "Mobility in the Urban Labor Market: A Panel Data Analysis for Mexico," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(1), pages 1-36, October.
    2. Garcia Penalosa, Cecilia & Turnovsky, Stephen J., 2005. "Second-best optimal taxation of capital and labor in a developing economy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(5-6), pages 1045-1074, June.
    3. Kalulumia, Pene & Nyankiye, Francine, 2000. "Labor Adjustment Costs, Macroeconomic Shocks and Real Business Cycles in a Small Open Economy," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 671-694, October.
    4. Agenor, Pierre-Richard, 2005. "Fiscal adjustment and labor market dynamics in an open economy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 97-125, February.
    5. Toye, John, 2000. "Fiscal Crisis and Fiscal Reform in Developing Countries," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 24(1), pages 21-44, January.
    6. Friedrich Schneider & Dominik Enste, 1999. "Shadow Economies Around the World - Size, Causes, and Consequences," CESifo Working Paper Series 196, CESifo.
    7. Abel, Andrew B & Blanchard, Olivier J, 1983. "An Intertemporal Model of Saving and Investment," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 51(3), pages 675-692, May.
    8. Marcouiller, Douglas & Young, Leslie, 1995. "The Black Hole of Graft: The Predatory State and the Informal Economy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(3), pages 630-646, June.
    9. Mahbub Morshed, A. K. M. & Turnovsky, Stephen J., 2004. "Sectoral adjustment costs and real exchange rate dynamics in a two-sector dependent economy," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 147-177, May.
    10. Judd, Kenneth L., 1985. "Redistributive taxation in a simple perfect foresight model," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 59-83, October.
    11. Pieter Serneels, 2007. "The Nature of Unemployment among Young Men in Urban Ethiopia," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(1), pages 170-186, February.
    12. Garcia-Penalosa, Cecilia & Turnovsky, Stephen J., 2005. "Production risk and the functional distribution of income in a developing economy: tradeoffs and policy responses," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 175-208, February.
    13. Kingdon, Geeta Gandhi & Knight, John, 2004. "Unemployment in South Africa: The Nature of the Beast," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 391-408, March.
    14. Gustavo Márquez & Cristóbal Ruiz-Tagle V., 2004. "Search Methods and Outcomes in Developing Countries: The Case of Venezuela," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 42998, Inter-American Development Bank.
    15. Robert J. Barro & Xavier Sala-I-Martin, 1992. "Public Finance in Models of Economic Growth," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 59(4), pages 645-661.
    16. Appleton, Simon & Knight, John & Song, Lina & Xia, Qingjie, 2002. "Labor retrenchment in China: Determinants and consequences," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(2-3), pages 252-275.
    17. Johnson, Simon & Kaufmann, Daniel & Zoido-Lobaton, Pablo, 1998. "Regulatory Discretion and the Unofficial Economy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 387-392, May.
    18. T. H. Gindling & Katherine Terrell, 2004. "Legal Minimum Wages and the Wages of Formal and Informal Sector Workers in Costa Rica," UMBC Economics Department Working Papers 04-102, UMBC Department of Economics.
    19. Loayza, Norman V., 1996. "The economics of the informal sector: a simple model and some empirical evidence from Latin America," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 129-162, December.
    20. Chamley, Christophe, 1986. "Optimal Taxation of Capital Income in General Equilibrium with Infinite Lives," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 54(3), pages 607-622, May.
    21. Basher , Md Abul, 2001. "Towards Understanding the Mismatch between Micro and Macro Level Effects of Microcredit: Causes and Imperatives," Bangladesh Development Studies, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), vol. 27(2), pages 137-159, June.
    22. Dominik H. Enste & Friedrich Schneider, 2000. "Shadow Economies: Size, Causes, and Consequences," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(1), pages 77-114, March.
    23. Georges, Christophre, 1995. "Adjustment costs and indeterminacy in perfect foresight models," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 19(1-2), pages 39-50.
    24. Harris, John R & Todaro, Michael P, 1970. "Migration, Unemployment & Development: A Two-Sector Analysis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 60(1), pages 126-142, March.
    25. Ihrig, Jane & Moe, Karine S., 2004. "Lurking in the shadows: the informal sector and government policy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 541-557, April.
    26. Robert E. Lucas & Jr., 1967. "Adjustment Costs and the Theory of Supply," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 75(4), pages 321-321.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bergolo, Marcelo & Burdin, Gabriel & De Rosa, Mauricio & Giaccobasso, Matias & Leites, Martin, 2019. "Tax Bunching at the Kink in the Presence of Low Capacity of Enforcement: Evidence from Uruguay," IZA Discussion Papers 12286, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Jenny Ligthart & Gerard C. van der Meijdenz, 2011. "The Dynamics of Revenue-Neutral Trade Liberalization," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1124, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    3. Jenny Ligthart & Gerard C. van der Meijden, 2010. "Coordinated Tax-Tariff Reforms, Informality, and Welfare Distribution," CESifo Working Paper Series 3107, CESifo.
    4. Rodrigo A. Cerda & Diego Saravia, 2009. "Optimal Taxation With Heterogeneous Firms," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 518, Central Bank of Chile.
    5. Chatterjee, Santanu & Turnovsky, Stephen J., 2018. "Remittances and the informal economy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 66-83.
    6. repec:hit:hitjcm:v:56:y:2015:i:1:p:73-91 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Gareth Liu-Evans & Shalini Mitra, 2020. "Formal sector enforcement and welfare," Working Papers 202030, University of Liverpool, Department of Economics.
    8. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm, 2020. "Internet and tax reform in developing countries," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    9. Dzhumashev, Ratbek & Levaggi, Rosella & Menoncin, Francesco, 2023. "Optimal tax enforcement with productive public inputs," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    10. Julia Friesen & Konstantin M. Wacker, 2019. "Who is Afraid of Informal Competition? The Role of Finance for Firms in Developing and Emerging Economies," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(4), pages 1126-1146, September.
    11. Barbara Annicchiarico & Claudio Cesaroni, 2018. "Tax reforms and the underground economy: a simulation-based analysis," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 25(2), pages 458-518, April.
    12. Gareth Liu-Evans & Shalini Mitra, 2023. "Formal sector enforcement and welfare," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 30(3), pages 706-728, June.
    13. Giuseppe Ciccarone & Francesco Giuli, 2012. "Underground labor, search frictions and macroeconomic fluctuations," Departmental Working Papers of Economics - University 'Roma Tre' 0159, Department of Economics - University Roma Tre.
    14. Arbex, Marcelo & Turdaliev, Nurlan, 2011. "Optimal monetary and audit policy with imperfect taxation," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 327-340, June.
    15. Ceyhun Elgin & Ferda Erturk, 2019. "Informal economies around the world: measures, determinants and consequences," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 9(2), pages 221-237, June.
    16. Cerda, Rodrigo A. & Saravia, Diego, 2013. "Optimal taxation with heterogeneous firms and informal sector," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 39-61.
    17. Lim, Sokchea & Morshed, A.K.M. Mahbub & Turnovsky, Stephen J., 2023. "Endogenous labor migration and remittances: Macroeconomic and welfare consequences," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    18. Chatterjee, Santanu & Lebesmuehlbacher, Thomas & Narayanan, Abhinav, 2021. "How productive is public investment? Evidence from formal and informal production in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    19. Maurizio Bovi & Roy Cerqueti, 2014. "A quantitative view on policymakers’ goal, institutions and tax evasion," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 1493-1510, May.
    20. Gupta, Manash Ranjan & Barman, Trishita Ray, 2015. "Environmental Pollution, Informal Sector, Public Expenditure And Economic Growth," Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, vol. 56(1), pages 73-91, June.
    21. van der Meijden, G.C., 2013. "The macroeconomic dynamics of trade liberalization, resource exploitation, and backstop technologies," Other publications TiSEM 988fc892-3596-4af3-9964-d, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    22. Jesús J. Rodríguez De Luque, 2014. "Efectos de las políticas tributaria y fiscalizadora sobre el tamano del sector informal en Colombia," Revista Cuadernos de Economia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, FCE, CID, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chatterjee, Santanu & Turnovsky, Stephen J., 2018. "Remittances and the informal economy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 66-83.
    2. Cerda, Rodrigo A. & Saravia, Diego, 2013. "Optimal taxation with heterogeneous firms and informal sector," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 39-61.
    3. Norman V. Loayza, 2016. "Informality in the Process of Development and Growth," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(12), pages 1856-1916, December.
    4. Nicoletta Batini & Young-Bae Kim & Paul Levine & Emanuela Lotti, 2009. "Informal Labour and Credit Markets: A Survey," School of Economics Discussion Papers 0609, School of Economics, University of Surrey.
    5. Amin, Mohammad & Islam, Asif, 2015. "Are Large Informal Firms More Productive than the Small Informal Firms? Evidence from Firm-Level Surveys in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 374-385.
    6. Sangeeta Pratap & Erwan Quintin, 2006. "The Informal Sector in Developing Countries: Output, Assets and Employment," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2006-130, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. D’Hernoncourt, Johanna & Méon, Pierre-Guillaume, 2012. "The not so dark side of trust: Does trust increase the size of the shadow economy?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 81(1), pages 97-121.
    8. Santanu Chatterjee & Stephen J. Turnovsky, 2023. "Government expenditure and informality in an emerging economy: the recent experience of India," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 293-318, September.
    9. Zoë Kuehn, 2014. "Tax Rates, Governance, And The Informal Economy In High-Income Countries," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 52(1), pages 405-430, January.
    10. Semih Tumen, 2017. "Entrepreneurship in the shadows," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 25(2), pages 239-269, April.
    11. Florencia Verónica Pedroni & Anahí Briozzo & Gabriela Pesce, 2022. "Determinants of unreported income in Latin American companies: a business perspective," International Journal of Economic Policy in Emerging Economies, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 16(1), pages 58-83.
    12. Chletsos, Michael & Sintos, Andreas, 2021. "Hide and seek: IMF intervention and the shadow economy," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 292-319.
    13. Zenou, Yves, 2008. "Job search and mobility in developing countries. Theory and policy implications," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 336-355, June.
    14. Florencia Verónica Pedroni & Anahí Briozzo & Gabriela Pesce, 2019. "¿Por qué no declarar todo? Determinantes de la subfacturación empresarial en la Argentina," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4186, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    15. Wang, David Han-Min & Lin, Jer-Yan & Yu, Tiffany Hui-Kuang, 2006. "A MIMIC approach to modeling the underground economy in Taiwan," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 371(2), pages 536-542.
    16. Eliane El Badaoui & Riccardo Magnani, 2020. "Tax Policies and Informality in South Africa," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(3), pages 267-301, April.
    17. Biswajit Mandal & Sugata Marjit & Hamid Beladi, 2018. "Reform, informal sector, and extortion," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 106-123, March.
    18. Straub, Stéphane, 2005. "Informal sector: The credit market channel," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(2), pages 299-321, December.
    19. Carillo, Maria Rosaria & Pugno, Maurizio, 2004. "The underground economy and underdevelopment," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 257-279, September.
    20. Mitra, Shalini, 2014. "Tax Evasion, Tax Policies and the Role Played by Financial Markets," MPRA Paper 58977, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:88:y:2009:i:2:p:205-216. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/devec .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.