IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/iecrev/v58y2017i4p1047-1088.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Equilibrium Search And Tax Credit Reform

Author

Listed:
  • Andrew Shephard

Abstract

An empirical equilibrium job search model with wage posting is developed to analyze the impact of U.K. tax reforms. The model allows for a rich characterization of the labor market, with hours responses, accurate representations of the tax and transfer system, and both worker and firm heterogeneity. The British Working Families' Tax Credit and contemporaneous reforms are predicted to increase employment, with equilibrium effects found to be relatively modest. The model is used to assess the impact of alternative policies, with equilibrium effects shown to become important as the generosity of tax credits is increased.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Shephard, 2017. "Equilibrium Search And Tax Credit Reform," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 58(4), pages 1047-1088, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:iecrev:v:58:y:2017:i:4:p:1047-1088
    DOI: 10.1111/iere.12245
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/iere.12245
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/iere.12245?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
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Altonji, Joseph G & Paxson, Christina H, 1988. "Labor Supply Preferences, Hours Constraints, and Hours-Wage Trade-Offs," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 6(2), pages 254-276, April.
    2. Azmat, Ghazala Yasmeen, 2006. "The incidence of an earned income tax credit: evaluating the impact on wages in the UK," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 19859, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Jeffrey Smith & Jeremy Lise & Shannon N. Seitz, 2003. "Equilibrium Policy Experiments And The Evaluation Of Social Programs," Working Paper 1012, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    4. Bontemps, Christian & Robin, Jean-Marc & van den Berg, Gerard J, 2000. "Equilibrium Search with Continuous Productivity Dispersion: Theory and Nonparametric Estimation," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 41(2), pages 305-358, May.
    5. Victor Chernozhukov & Ivan Fernandez-Val & Alfred Galichon, 2007. "Improving estimates of monotone functions by rearrangement," CeMMAP working papers CWP09/07, Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    6. Jesse Rothstein, 2008. "The Unintended Consequences of Encouraging Work: Tax Incidence and the EITC," Working Papers 1049, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    7. Jesse Rothstein, 2010. "Is the EITC as Good as an NIT? Conditional Cash Transfers and Tax Incidence," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 177-208, February.
    8. repec:pri:indrel:dsp016h440s45s is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Gadi Barlevy & H. N. Nagaraja, 2006. "Identification of Search Models with Initial Condition Problems," 2006 Meeting Papers 4, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    10. Gregory Jolivet & Fabien Postel-Vinay & Jean-Marc Robin, 2006. "The Empirical Content of the Job Search Model: Labor Mobility and Wage Distributions in Europe and the U.S.$," Contributions to Economic Analysis, in: Structural Models of Wage and Employment Dynamics, pages 269-308, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    11. Hall, Robert E. & Krueger, Alan B., 2008. "Wage Formation between Newly Hired Workers and Employers: Survey Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 3775, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Bent Jesper Christensen & Rasmus Lentz & Dale T. Mortensen & George R. Neumann & Axel Werwatz, 2005. "On-the-Job Search and the Wage Distribution," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 23(1), pages 31-58, January.
    13. Jesse Rothstein, 2008. "The Unintended Consequences of Encouraging Work: Tax Incidence and the EITC," Working Papers 1049, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    14. Richard Blundell & Mike Brewer & Marco Francesconi, 2008. "Job Changes and Hours Changes: Understanding the Path of Labor Supply Adjustment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(3), pages 421-453, July.
    15. Bontemps, Christian & Robin, Jean-Marc & Van den Berg, Gerard J, 1999. "An Empirical Equilibrium Job Search Model with Search on the Job and Heterogeneous Workers and Firms," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 40(4), pages 1039-1074, November.
    16. Muriel Roger & Sébastien Roux, 2009. "Demande de travail et élasticité des heures au salaire," Recherches économiques de Louvain, De Boeck Université, vol. 75(1), pages 63-91.
    17. Guler, Bulent & Guvenen, Fatih & Violante, Giovanni L., 2012. "Joint-search theory: New opportunities and new frictions," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(4), pages 352-369.
    18. Richard Blundell & Monica Costa Dias & Costas Meghir & John Van Reenen, 2004. "Evaluating the Employment Impact of a Mandatory Job Search Program," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 2(4), pages 569-606, June.
    19. Gentry, William M. & Hubbard, R. Glenn, 2004. "The effects of progressive income taxation on job turnover," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(11), pages 2301-2322, September.
    20. Leigh Andrew, 2010. "Who Benefits from the Earned Income Tax Credit? Incidence among Recipients, Coworkers and Firms," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-43, May.
    21. Mike Brewer, 2001. "Comparing in-work benefits and the reward to work for families with children in the US and the UK," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 41-77, January.
    22. Albrecht, James W & Axell, Bo, 1984. "An Equilibrium Model of Search Unemployment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 92(5), pages 824-840, October.
    23. Richard Blundell & Andrew Shephard, 2012. "Employment, Hours of Work and the Optimal Taxation of Low-Income Families," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 79(2), pages 481-510.
    24. repec:hoo:wpaper:e-90-11 is not listed on IDEAS
    25. Geert Ridder & Gerard J. van den Berg, 2003. "Measuring Labor Market Frictions: A Cross-Country Comparison," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 1(1), pages 224-244, March.
    26. Jesse Rothstein, 2010. "Is the EITC as Good as an NIT? Conditional Cash Transfers and Tax Incidence," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 177-208, February.
    27. Hwang, Hae-shin & Mortensen, Dale T & Reed, W Robert, 1998. "Hedonic Wages and Labor Market Search," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(4), pages 815-847, October.
    28. Blau, David M, 1991. "Search for Nonwage Job Characteristics: A Test of the Reservation Wage Hypothesis," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 9(2), pages 186-205, April.
    29. Richard Blundell & Andrew Shephard, 2012. "Employment, Hours of Work and the Optimal Taxation of Low-Income Families," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 79(2), pages 481-510.
    30. repec:pri:cepsud:218shephard is not listed on IDEAS
    31. Gadi Barlevy, 2008. "Identification of Search Models using Record Statistics," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 75(1), pages 29-64.
    32. Bound, John & Brown, Charles & Duncan, Greg J & Rodgers, Willard L, 1994. "Evidence on the Validity of Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Labor Market Data," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(3), pages 345-368, July.
    33. Thomas MaCurdy & David Green & Harry Paarsch, 1990. "Assessing Empirical Approaches for Analyzing Taxes and Labor Supply," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 25(3), pages 415-490.
    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. Niklas Engbom & Christian Moser, 2022. "Earnings Inequality and the Minimum Wage: Evidence from Brazil," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(12), pages 3803-3847, December.
    2. Haywood, Luke & Neumann, Michael, 2021. "Equilibrium effects of tax exemptions for low pay," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    3. Naoki Aizawa & Hanming Fang, 2020. "Equilibrium Labor Market Search and Health Insurance Reform," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(11), pages 4258-4336.
    4. Ghazala Azmat, 2019. "Incidence, salience, and spillovers: The direct and indirect effects of tax credits on wages," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 10(1), pages 239-273, January.
    5. Bradley, Jake & Kügler, Alice, 2019. "Labor market reforms: An evaluation of the Hartz policies in Germany," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 108-135.
    6. Gürtzgen, Nicole & Blömer, Maximilian & Pohlan, Laura & Stichnoth, Holger & van den Berg, Gerard, 2016. "Estimating an Equilibrium Job Search Model for the German Labour Market," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145950, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    7. Benoit Schmutz & Modibo Sidibé, 2014. "Job Search and Migration in a System of Cities," Working Papers 2014-43, Center for Research in Economics and Statistics.
    8. Hanming Fang & Andrew J. Shephard, 2019. "Household Labor Search, Spousal Insurance, and Health Care Reform," NBER Working Papers 26350, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Gabriela Galassi, 2021. "Labor Demand Response to Labor Supply Incentives: Lessons from the German Mini-Job Reform," Staff Working Papers 21-15, Bank of Canada.
    10. Kazuhiko Sumiya & Jesper Bagger, 2022. "Income Taxes, Gross Hourly Wages, and the Anatomy of Behavioral Responses: Evidence from a Danish Tax Reform," Economics Working Papers 2022-03, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    11. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/cjhqfnej9843a5mf27aq9dj2s is not listed on IDEAS
    12. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/cjhqfnej9843a5mf27aq9dj2s is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Breda, Thomas & Haywood, Luke & Wang, Haomin, 2022. "Equilibrium Effects of Payroll Tax Reductions and Optimal Policy Design," IZA Discussion Papers 15810, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Galassi, Gabriela, 2021. "Labor Demand Response to Labor Supply Incentives: Lessons from the German Mini-Job Reform," IZA Discussion Papers 14248, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Ghazala Azmat, 2018. "Incidence, Salience and Spillovers: The Direct and Indirect Effects of Tax Credits on Wages," SciencePo Working papers hal-03567413, HAL.
    16. Blömer, Maximilian J. & Guertzgen, Nicole & Pohlan, Laura & Stichnoth, Holger & van den Berg, Gerard J., 2018. "Unemployment effects of the German minimum wage in an equilibrium job search model," ZEW Discussion Papers 18-032, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

    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. Andrew Shephard, 2017. "Equilibrium Search And Tax Credit Reform," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 58(4), pages 1047-1088, November.
    2. repec:pri:cepsud:223shephard is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Naoki Aizawa & Hanming Fang, 2020. "Equilibrium Labor Market Search and Health Insurance Reform," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(11), pages 4258-4336.
    4. Shaimaa Yassin, 2013. "Structural Labor Market Transitions and Wage Dispersion in Egypt and Jordan," Working Papers 753, Economic Research Forum, revised May 2013.
    5. van den Berg, Gerard J. & van Vuuren, Aico, 2010. "The effect of search frictions on wages," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 875-885, December.
    6. Ronald P. Wolthoff, 2010. "Applications and Interviews: A Structural Analysis of Two-Sided Simultaneous Search," Working Papers tecipa-418, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    7. Niklas Engbom & Christian Moser, 2022. "Earnings Inequality and the Minimum Wage: Evidence from Brazil," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(12), pages 3803-3847, December.
    8. Gautier, Pieter A. & Moraga-González, José L. & Wolthoff, Ronald P., 2007. "Structural Estimation of Search Intensity: Do Non-Employed Workers Search Enough?," IZA Discussion Papers 3045, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Lane Kenworthy, 2015. "Do employment-conditional earnings subsidies work?," ImPRovE Working Papers 15/10, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    10. Keane, Michael P. & Todd, Petra E. & Wolpin, Kenneth I., 2011. "The Structural Estimation of Behavioral Models: Discrete Choice Dynamic Programming Methods and Applications," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 4, pages 331-461, Elsevier.
    11. Naoki Aizawa & Hanming Fang, 2015. "Equilibrium Labor Market Search and Health Insurance Reform, Second Version," PIER Working Paper Archive 15-024, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, revised 28 Jun 2015.
    12. Helge Bennmarker & Lars Calmfors & Anna Seim, 2014. "Earned income tax credits, unemployment benefits and wages: empirical evidence from Sweden," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-20, December.
    13. Giovanni Sulis, 2008. "Wage Dispersion and Equilibrium Search Models: Some Evidence from Italy," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 22(4), pages 593-627, December.
    14. Hanming Fang & Andrew Shephard, 2019. "Household Labor Search, Spousal Insurance, and Health Care Reform," PIER Working Paper Archive 19-019, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
    15. repec:pri:cepsud:184rothstein is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Pieter Gautier & Jose Luis Moraga-Gonzalez & Ronald Wolthoff, 2007. "Structural Estimation of Search Intensity: Do non-employed workers search hard enough?," 2007 Meeting Papers 695, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    17. Jesse Rothstein, 2009. "Is the EITC Equivalent to an NIT? Conditional Cash Transfers and Tax Incidence," NBER Working Papers 14966, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Etienne Lalé, 2019. "Search and Multiple Jobholding," Upjohn Working Papers 19-305, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    19. Jean‐Baptiste Michau, 2021. "On the Provision of Insurance against Search‐Induced Wage Fluctuations," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(1), pages 382-414, January.
    20. Hoynes, Hilary & Rothstein, Jesse, 2016. "Tax Policy Toward Low-Income Families," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt87d6v10j, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    21. Gabriella Conti & Rita Ginja, Renata Narita, 2018. "The Value of Health Insurance: A Household Job Search Approach," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2018_18, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).
    22. Kazuhiko Sumiya & Jesper Bagger, 2022. "Income Taxes, Gross Hourly Wages, and the Anatomy of Behavioral Responses: Evidence from a Danish Tax Reform," Economics Working Papers 2022-03, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H29 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Other
    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General

    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:wly:iecrev:v:58:y:2017:i:4:p:1047-1088. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/deupaus.html .

    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.