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Taxation and Unemployment in Models with Heterogeneous Workers

Author

Listed:
  • Marcus Hagedorn

    (University of Oslo)

  • Iourii Manovskii

    (University of Pennsylvania)

  • Sergiy Stetsenko

    (GM Financial)

Abstract

We introduce ex-ante heterogeneity between workers and two technology shocks, neutral and investment-specific, as the driving forces into the basic Mortensen-Pissarides search and matching model. The calibrated model is simultaneously consistent with a strong response of labor market variables to cyclical fluctuations in productivity and a weaker response to changes in taxes found in cross-country data. The model also matches the evidence that countries with higher tax rates have higher aggregate productivity, lower skill premia, and higher unemployment rates among both high- and low-skilled workers. The key mechanism that allows us to achieve these results is that aggregate and group-specific productivities are endogenous and respond to changes in tax policy. (Copyright: Elsevier)

Suggested Citation

  • Marcus Hagedorn & Iourii Manovskii & Sergiy Stetsenko, 2016. "Taxation and Unemployment in Models with Heterogeneous Workers," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 19, pages 161-189, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:red:issued:14-340
    DOI: 10.1016/j.red.2015.12.004
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    2. Konstantinos Angelopoulos & Spyridon Lazarakis & James Malley, 2019. "Savings externalities and wealth inequality," Working Papers 2019-05, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    3. Dario Cords & Klaus Prettner, 2022. "Technological unemployment revisited: automation in a search and matching framework [The future of work: meeting the global challenges of demographic change and automation]," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 74(1), pages 115-135.
    4. Yusuf Mercan & Benjamin Schoefer & Petr Sedláček, 2020. "A Congestion Theory of Unemployment Fluctuations," CESifo Working Paper Series 8731, CESifo.
    5. Lecca, Patrizio & Persyn, Damiaan & Sakkas, Stelios, 2023. "Capital-skill complementarity and regional inequality: A spatial general equilibrium analysis," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    6. Konstantinos Angelopoulos & Spyridon Lazarakis & Jim Malley, 2019. "Savings externalities and wealth inequality," CESifo Working Paper Series 7619, CESifo.
    7. Yusuf Mercan & Benjamin Schoefer & Petr Sedláček, 2024. "A Congestion Theory of Unemployment Fluctuations," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(1), pages 238-285, January.
    8. Konstantinos Angelopoulos & Spyridon Lazarakis & James Malley, 2017. "Wealth inequality and externalities from ex ante skill heterogeneity," Working Papers 2017_07, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    9. CRISTEA Loredana Andreea & ZETI Catalin, 2019. "Study On The Incidence Of Social Security Contributions On Employment And Unemployment, In The European Context," Revista Economica, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 71(2), pages 24-42, September.
    10. Noritaka Kudoh & Hiroaki Miyamoto, 2021. "Robots and Unemployment," Working Papers SDES-2021-5, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised May 2021.
    11. Konstantinos Angelopoulos & Wei Jiang & James Malley, 2017. "Targeted fiscal policy to increase employment and wages of unskilled workers," Studies in Economics 1704, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    12. Masaya Yasuoka, 2021. "How should a government finance pension benefits?," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 138-152, March.
    13. Guido Menzio & Randall Wright, 2016. "Introduction to the Special Issue in Honor of Dale Mortensen," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 19, pages 1-3, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Search; Matching; Business cycles; Heterogeneity; Labor markets;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Public Policy

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