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On the allocation of time – A quantitative analysis of the roles of taxes and productivities

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  • Duernecker, Georg
  • Herrendorf, Berthold

Abstract

Basic theory suggests that increases in labor-income taxes induce people to substitute household production for market work. Time-use surveys for 12 OECD countries during 1970–2010, however, show that instead people substituted leisure for market work. To understand why this happened, we carefully measure the labor productivity of household production and find that it grew strongly in many countries of our sample. Employing a calibrated model of household production, we show that strong growth in the labor productivity of household production implies that leisure absorbs the reductions in market work after labor-income tax increases.

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  • Duernecker, Georg & Herrendorf, Berthold, 2018. "On the allocation of time – A quantitative analysis of the roles of taxes and productivities," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 169-187.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:102:y:2018:i:c:p:169-187
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2017.10.025
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    Cited by:

    1. Edgar Cruz & Xavier Raurich, 2020. "Leisure time and the sectoral composition of employment," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 38, pages 198-219, October.
    2. Edgar Cruz & Xavier Raurich, 2020. "Leisure time and the sectoral composition of employment," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 38, pages 198-219, October.
    3. Bridgman, Benjamin & Duernecker, Georg & Herrendorf, Berthold, 2018. "Structural transformation, marketization, and household production around the world," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 102-126.
    4. Robert Duval-Hernández & Lei Fang & L. Rachel Ngai, 2018. "Social Subsidies and Marketization – the Role of Gender and Skill," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 962, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    5. Robert Duval-Hernandez & Lei Fang & L. Rachel Ngai, 2021. "Taxes, Subsidies, and Gender Gaps in Hours and Wages," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2021-17, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    6. Lei Fang & Anne Hannusch & Pedro Silos, 2021. "Luxuries, Necessities, and the Allocation of Time," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2021-28, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    7. Hui He & Kevin X.D. Huang & Lei Ning, 2019. "Why Do Americans Spend So Much More on Health Care than Europeans? (REVISED)," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 19-00008, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    8. Fang, Lei & Yang, Fang, 2022. "Consumption and hours in the United States and Europe," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    9. Michael Bar & Moshe Hazan & Oksana Leukhina & David Weiss & Hosny Zoabi, 2018. "Why did rich families increase their fertility? Inequality and marketization of child care," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 427-463, December.
    10. Hui He & Kevin X.D. Huang & Lei Ning, 2021. "Why Do Americans Spend So Much More On Health Care Than Europeans?," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 62(4), pages 1363-1399, November.
    11. Cristian Alonso & Mariya Brussevich & Ms. Era Dabla-Norris & Yuko Kinoshita & Ms. Kalpana Kochhar, 2019. "Reducing and Redistributing Unpaid Work: Stronger Policies to Support Gender Equality," IMF Working Papers 2019/225, International Monetary Fund.
    12. Larissa Batrancea, 2021. "An Econometric Approach Regarding the Impact of Fiscal Pressure on Equilibrium: Evidence from Electricity, Gas and Oil Companies Listed on the New York Stock Exchange," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-22, March.
    13. Robert Duval-Hernandez & Lei Fang & L. Rachel Ngai, 2017. "Taxes and Market Hours: The Role of Gender and Skill," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2017-8, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    14. Lei Fang & Fang Yang, 2021. "Consumption and Hours between the United States and France," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2021-7, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    15. Hui He & Kevin x.d. Huang & Lei Ning, 2019. "Why Do Americans Spend So Much More on Health Care than Europeans? (REVISED)," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 19-00008, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Household production; Income tax; Labor productivity; Leisure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E1 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models
    • J4 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets

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