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Optimal Income Taxation with Endogenous Participation and Search Unemployment

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  • Etienne Lehmann

    () (CREST, IZA, IDEP and Université Catholique de Louvain)

  • Alexis Parmentier

    () (EPEE-TEPP - Université d’Evry and Université Catholique de Louvain)

  • Bruno Van Der Linden

    () (IRES - Université Catholique de Louvain, FNRS, ERMES - Université Paris 2 and IZA)

Abstract

This paper characterizes the optimal redistributive taxation when individuals are hetero- geneous in two exogenous dimensions: their skills and their values of non-market activities. Search-matching frictions on the labor markets create unemployment. Wages, labor demand and participation are endogenous. The government only observes wage levels. Under a Max- imin objective, if the elasticity of participation decreases along the distribution of skills, at the optimum, the average tax rate is increasing, marginal tax rates are positive everywhere, while wages, unemployment rates and participation rates are distorted downwards compared to their laissez-faire values. A simulation exercise confirms some of these properties under a general utilitarian objective. Taking account of the wage-cum-labor demand margin deeply changes the equity-efficiency trade-off.

Suggested Citation

  • Etienne Lehmann & Alexis Parmentier & Bruno Van Der Linden, 2008. "Optimal Income Taxation with Endogenous Participation and Search Unemployment," Documents de recherche 08-16, Centre d'Études des Politiques Économiques (EPEE), Université d'Evry Val d'Essonne.
    • Handle: RePEc:eve:wpaper:08-16
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Mathias Hungerbuhler & Etienne Lehmann & Alexis Parmentier & Bruno Van Der Linden, 2010. "A Simple Theory of Optimal Redistributive Taxation with Equilibrium Unemployment," Working Papers 2010-13, Center for Research in Economics and Statistics.
    2. Aronsson, Thomas & Micheletto, Luca, 2017. "Optimal Redistributive Income Taxation and Efficiency Wages," Umeå Economic Studies 953, Umeå University, Department of Economics.
    3. Frédéric Gavrel, 2015. "Participation, Recruitment Selection, and the Minimum Wage," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 117(4), pages 1281-1305, October.
    4. Kory Kroft & Kucko Kavan & Etienne Lehmann & Johannes Schmieder, 2015. "Optimal Income Taxation with Unemployment and Wage Responses: A Sufficient Statistics Approach," Working Papers hal-01292126, HAL.
    5. Alessandro Petretto, 2014. "On the Theoretical Background of Cosciani’s Tax Reform," ECONOMIA PUBBLICA, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2014(3), pages 59-79.
    6. Jacquet, Laurence & Lehmann, Etienne & Van der Linden, Bruno, 2011. "Optimal Redistributive Taxation with Both Labor Supply and Labor Demand Responses," IZA Discussion Papers 5642, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
    7. Adam M. Lavecchia, 2018. "Minimum Wage Policy with Optimal Taxes and Unemployment," Working Papers 1801E, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    8. Laurence Jacquet & Etienne Lehmann & Bruno Linden, 2014. "Optimal income taxation with Kalai wage bargaining and endogenous participation," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 42(2), pages 381-402, February.
    9. Yılmaz Ensar, 2016. "Market Imperfections and Income Distribution," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 16(2), pages 1147-1167, April.
    10. Nicholas Lawson, 2014. "Taxing the Job Creators: Efficient Progressive Taxation with Wage Bargaining," AMSE Working Papers 1442, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, Marseille, France, revised Aug 2014.
    11. Etienne Lehmann & Claudio Lucifora & Simone Moriconi & Bruno Van der Linden, 2016. "Beyond the labour income tax wedge: the unemployment-reducing effect of tax progressivity," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 23(3), pages 454-489, June.
    12. Robin Boadway & Katherine Cuff, 2016. "Optimal Unemployment Insurance and Redistribution," Working Papers 1375, Queen's University, Department of Economics.
    13. Robin Boadway, 2012. "Recent Advances in Optimal Income Taxation," Hacienda Pública Española, IEF, vol. 200(1), pages 15-39, March.
    14. Brigitte Baalen & Tobias Müller, 2014. "Social welfare effects of tax-benefit reform under endogenous participation and unemployment: an ordinal approach," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 21(2), pages 198-227, April.
    15. repec:asi:ijosaa:2017:p:45-51 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Nicholas Lawson, 2014. "Taxing the Job Creators: Effcient Progressive Taxation with Wage Bargaining," Working Papers halshs-01059604, HAL.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Non-linear taxation; redistribution; adverse selection; random participation; unemployment; labor market frictions;

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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