IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/phsmap/v679y2025ics0378437125006120.html

Effects of taxes, redistribution actions and fiscal evasion on wealth inequality: An agent-based model approach

Author

Listed:
  • Barros, Iago N.
  • Martins, Marcelo L.

Abstract

In capitalist societies, only one right can be fully exercised without any constraints: the limitless accumulation of wealth. This imperative, or fundamental axiom, is the ultimate cause of the raising waves of inequalities observed today. In this work, we extended the agent-based model proposed by Castro de Oliveira (2017) to study the effects of non-uniform income redistribution policies and tax evasion on the steady-state wealth distribution of economic agents. Our simulational results strongly support that well designed policies of income redistribution are an essential tools for promoting more economically egalitarian and sustainable societies. Furthermore, we show that tax evasion can substantially mitigate the effects of redistribution, pushing the system toward the critical point of absolute wealth condensation and highlighting the importance of strict control over the taxes collected within an economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Barros, Iago N. & Martins, Marcelo L., 2025. "Effects of taxes, redistribution actions and fiscal evasion on wealth inequality: An agent-based model approach," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 679(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:679:y:2025:i:c:s0378437125006120
    DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2025.130960
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378437125006120
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only. Journal offers the option of making the article available online on Science direct for a fee of $3,000
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.physa.2025.130960?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Soares, Abner D. & Moura Jr., Newton J. & Ribeiro, Marcelo B., 2016. "Tsallis statistics in the income distribution of Brazil," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 158-171.
    2. Silver, Jonathan & Slud, Eric & Takamoto, Keiji, 2002. "Statistical Equilibrium Wealth Distributions in an Exchange Economy with Stochastic Preferences," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 106(2), pages 417-435, October.
    3. Lima, Hugo & Vieira, Allan R. & Anteneodo, Celia, 2022. "Nonlinear redistribution of wealth from a stochastic approach," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    4. Drăgulescu, Adrian & Yakovenko, Victor M., 2001. "Exponential and power-law probability distributions of wealth and income in the United Kingdom and the United States," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 299(1), pages 213-221.
    5. Paulo Murilo Castro de Oliveira, 2017. "Rich or poor: Who should pay higher tax rates?," Papers 1711.06164, arXiv.org.
    6. Ion Santra, 2022. "Effect of tax dynamics on linearly growing processes under stochastic resetting: a possible economic model," Papers 2202.13713, arXiv.org.
    7. Sam L. Polk & Bruce M. Boghosian, 2020. "The Nonuniversality of Wealth Distribution Tails Near Wealth Condensation Criticality," Papers 2006.15008, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2021.
    8. Jean-Philippe Bouchaud & Marc Mezard, 2000. "Wealth condensation in a simple model of economy," Science & Finance (CFM) working paper archive 500026, Science & Finance, Capital Fund Management.
    9. Boghosian, Bruce M. & Devitt-Lee, Adrian & Johnson, Merek & Li, Jie & Marcq, Jeremy A. & Wang, Hongyan, 2017. "Oligarchy as a phase transition: The effect of wealth-attained advantage in a Fokker–Planck description of asset exchange," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 476(C), pages 15-37.
    10. Cardoso, Ben-Hur Francisco & Gonçalves, Sebastián & Iglesias, José Roberto, 2020. "Wealth distribution models with regulations: Dynamics and equilibria," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 551(C).
    11. Chakrabarti, Anindya S. & Chakrabarti, Bikas K., 2010. "Statistical theories of income and wealth distribution," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy, vol. 4, pages 1-31.
    12. Iglesias, J.R. & Gonçalves, S. & Pianegonda, S. & Vega, J.L. & Abramson, G., 2003. "Wealth redistribution in our small world," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 327(1), pages 12-17.
    13. Bouchaud, Jean-Philippe & Mézard, Marc, 2000. "Wealth condensation in a simple model of economy," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 282(3), pages 536-545.
    14. Li, Jie & Boghosian, Bruce M. & Li, Chengli, 2019. "The Affine Wealth Model: An agent-based model of asset exchange that allows for negative-wealth agents and its empirical validation," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 516(C), pages 423-442.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Max Greenberg & H. Oliver Gao, 2024. "Twenty-five years of random asset exchange modeling," The European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems, Springer;EDP Sciences, vol. 97(6), pages 1-27, June.
    2. Borba, Jhordan Silveira & Gonçalves, Sebastian & Anteneodo, Celia, 2025. "Inequality in a model of capitalist economy," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 664(C).
    3. Néda, Zoltán & Gere, István & Biró, Tamás S. & Tóth, Géza & Derzsy, Noemi, 2020. "Scaling in income inequalities and its dynamical origin," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 549(C).
    4. Sam L. Polk & Bruce M. Boghosian, 2020. "The Nonuniversality of Wealth Distribution Tails Near Wealth Condensation Criticality," Papers 2006.15008, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2021.
    5. Lin, Chuandong & Cui, Lijie, 2026. "Kinetic modeling of wealth distribution under individual and collective transactions with heterogeneous saving propensities," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 681(C).
    6. Braun, Dieter, 2006. "Nonequilibrium thermodynamics of wealth condensation," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 369(2), pages 714-722.
    7. Thomas Gottfried & Stefan Grosskinsky, 2025. "Wages and capital returns in a generalized Pólya urn," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 20(2), pages 477-518, April.
    8. D. S. Quevedo & C. J. Quimbay, 2019. "Piketty's second fundamental law of capitalism as an emergent property in a kinetic wealth-exchange model of economic growth," Papers 1903.00952, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2019.
    9. Lima, Hugo & Vieira, Allan R. & Anteneodo, Celia, 2022. "Nonlinear redistribution of wealth from a stochastic approach," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    10. J. R. Iglesias & R. M. C. de Almeida, 2011. "Entropy and equilibrium state of free market models," Papers 1108.5725, arXiv.org.
    11. Zoltan Neda & Istvan Gere & Tamas S. Biro & Geza Toth & Noemi Derzsy, 2019. "Scaling in Income Inequalities and its Dynamical Origin," Papers 1911.02449, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2020.
    12. E. Samanidou & E. Zschischang & D. Stauffer & T. Lux, 2001. "Microscopic Models of Financial Markets," Papers cond-mat/0110354, arXiv.org.
    13. Bertram During & Nicos Georgiou & Enrico Scalas, 2016. "A stylized model for wealth distribution," Papers 1609.08978, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2021.
    14. Smerlak, Matteo, 2016. "Thermodynamics of inequalities: From precariousness to economic stratification," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 441(C), pages 40-50.
    15. Istvan Gere & Szabolcs Kelemen & Geza Toth & Tamas Biro & Zoltan Neda, 2021. "Wealth distribution in modern societies: collected data and a master equation approach," Papers 2104.04134, arXiv.org.
    16. Ikeda, Yuichi & Aoyama, Hideaki & Iyetomi, Hiroshi & Fujiwara, Yoshi & Souma, Wataru & Kaizoji, Taisei, 2007. "Response of firm agent network to exogenous shock," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 382(1), pages 138-148.
    17. Carmen Pellicer-Lostao & Ricardo Lopez-Ruiz, 2010. "Transition from Exponential to Power Law Distributions in a Chaotic Market," Papers 1011.5187, arXiv.org.
    18. Pierre Degond & Jian-Guo Liu & Christian Ringhofer, 2014. "Evolution of wealth in a nonconservative economy driven by local Nash equilibria," Papers 1403.7800, arXiv.org.
    19. repec:ctc:serie1:def14 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Bagatella-Flores, N. & Rodríguez-Achach, M. & Coronel-Brizio, H.F. & Hernández-Montoya, A.R., 2015. "Wealth distribution of simple exchange models coupled with extremal dynamics," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 417(C), pages 168-175.
    21. Nicolò Pecora & Alessandro Spelta, 2014. "Shareholding Network in the Euro Area Banking Market," DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza def014, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:phsmap:v:679:y:2025:i:c:s0378437125006120. 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.journals.elsevier.com/physica-a-statistical-mechpplications/ .

    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.