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Macroeconomics with Endogenous Markups and Optimal Taxation

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  • Federico Etro

Abstract

I augment a flexible price dynamic general equilibrium model with any symmetric intratemporal preferences over a variety of goods supplied under monopolistic, Bertrand, or Cournot competition to derive implications for business cycle and market inefficiencies. Endogenous markups can magnify the impact of shocks on consumption and labor supply through intertemporal substitution mechanisms, and the optimal fiscal policy requires a variable labor income subsidy and a capital income tax that converges to zero in the long run. With an endogenous number of goods and strategic interactions, entry also affects markups and the optimal fiscal policy requires also a tax on profits. I characterize equilibrium and efficient market structures and derive optimal tax rules for a variety of preferences, including a new type of general additive preferences that nest direct, indirect, implicit, and homothetic additivity.

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  • Federico Etro, 2018. "Macroeconomics with Endogenous Markups and Optimal Taxation," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 85(2), pages 378-406, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:soecon:v:85:y:2018:i:2:p:378-406
    DOI: 10.1002/soej.12305
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    Cited by:

    1. Etro, Federico, 2020. "Technological Foundations for Dynamic Models with Endogenous Entry," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    2. Savagar, Anthony & Dixon, Huw, 2020. "Firm entry, excess capacity and endogenous productivity," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    3. Cavallari, Lilia, 2022. "The international real business cycle when demand matters," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    4. Paolo Bertoletti & Federico Etro, 2022. "Monopolistic competition, as you like it," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(1), pages 293-319, January.
    5. Etro, Federico, 2019. "The Romer model with monopolistic competition and general technologies," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 1-6.
    6. Cavallari, Lilia & Etro, Federico, 2020. "Demand, markups and the business cycle," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    7. Cheng-wei Chang & Ching-chong Lai, 2021. "Optimal fiscal policies and market structures with monopolistic competition," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 28(6), pages 1385-1411, December.
    8. Kushnir, Alexey & Tarasov, Alexander & Zubrickas, Robertas, 2021. "On equilibrium in monopolistic competition with endogenous labor," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    9. Eren Gürer, 2022. "Rising markups and optimal redistributive taxation," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(5), pages 1227-1259, October.
    10. Etro, Federico, 2023. "Technologies for endogenous growth," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    11. Alexander Tarasov & Robertas Zubrickas, 2021. "Optimal Income Taxation under Monopolistic Competition," CESifo Working Paper Series 9309, CESifo.
    12. Alexander Tarasov & Robertas Zubrickas, 2023. "Optimal income taxation under monopolistic competition," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 76(2), pages 495-523, August.
    13. Lilia Cavallari & Federico Etro, 2017. "Demand, Markups and the Business Cycle. Bayesian Estimation and Quantitative Analysis in Closed and Open Economies," Working Papers 2017:09, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E1 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models
    • E2 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment
    • E3 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles

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