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Tax reform with useful public expenditures

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  • Steven P. Cassou
  • Kevin J. Lansing

Abstract

This paper examines the economic effects of tax reform in an endogenous growth model that allows for two types of useful public expenditures; one type contributes to human capital information while the other provides direct utility to households. We show that the optimal fiscal policy calls for full expensing of private investment which shifts the tax base to private consumption. The efficient levels of public investment and public consumption relative to output are uniquely pinned down by parameters that govern both technology and preferences. In general, implementing the optimal fiscal policy requires a change in the size of government. If a tax reform holds the size of government fixed to satisfy a revenue-neutrality constraint, then the reform will be suboptimal; theory alone cannot tell us if welfare will be improved. For some calibrations of the model, we find that commonly-proposed versions of revenue-neutral tax reforms can result in large welfare gains. For other quite plausible calibrations, the exact same reform can result in tiny or even negative welfare gains as the revenue-neutrality constraint becomes more severely binding. Comparing across calibrations, we find that the welfare rankings of various reforms can change, depending on parameter values. Overall, our results highlight the uncertainty surrounding the potential welfare benefits of fundamental U.S. tax reform.

Suggested Citation

  • Steven P. Cassou & Kevin J. Lansing, 2004. "Tax reform with useful public expenditures," Working Papers in Applied Economic Theory 98-09, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
  • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedfap:98-09
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    2. Saeed Solaymani, 2020. "Assessing the economic and social impacts of fiscal policies," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 47(3), pages 671-694, March.
    3. Mathias Trabandt, 2006. "Optimal Pre-Announced Tax Reforms Under Valuable And Productive Government Spending," 2006 Meeting Papers 668, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    4. Chen, Been-Lon & Lu, Chia-Hui, 2013. "Optimal factor tax incidence in two-sector human capital-based models," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 75-94.
    5. Chia-Hui Lu & Been-Lon Chen, 2015. "Optimal Capital Taxation in a Neoclassical Growth Model," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 17(2), pages 257-269, April.
    6. Cassou, Steven P. & Gorostiaga Alonso, Miren Arantzazu, 2007. "Optimal fiscal policy in a multisector model with minimum expenditure requirements," DFAEII Working Papers 1988-088X, University of the Basque Country - Department of Foundations of Economic Analysis II.
    7. Angelina Shpilevaya, 2022. "Overview of General Equilibrium Models with Imperfect Financial Markets and the Accumulation of Human Capital," Russian Journal of Money and Finance, Bank of Russia, vol. 81(3), pages 54-71, September.
    8. Trabandt, Mathias & Uhlig, Harald, 2011. "The Laffer curve revisited," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(4), pages 305-327.
    9. Cassou, Steven P. & Gorostiaga Alonso, Miren Arantzazu & Gutiérrez Huerta, María José & Hamilton, Stephen F., 2006. "Second-best tax policy in a growing economy with externalities," DFAEII Working Papers 1988-088X, University of the Basque Country - Department of Foundations of Economic Analysis II.
    10. Blankenau, William, 2005. "Public schooling, college subsidies and growth," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 487-507, March.
    11. Steven P. Cassou & Arantza Gorostiaga, 2009. "Optimal Fiscal Policy in a Multisector Model: The Price Consequences of Government Spending," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 11(2), pages 177-201, April.
    12. Constantine Angyridis & Brennan Scott Thompson, 2016. "Negative income taxes, inequality and poverty," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 49(3), pages 1016-1034, August.
    13. Hung-Ju Chen & Been-Lon Chen & Ping Wang, 2010. "Taxing Capital is Not a Bad Idea Indeed: The Role of Human Capital and Labor-Market Frictions," 2010 Meeting Papers 827, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    14. Lansing, Kevin J., 2012. "Speculative growth, overreaction, and the welfare cost of technology-driven bubbles," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 83(3), pages 461-483.
    15. Keith Blackburn & Dimitrios Varvarigos, 2008. "Human capital accumulation and output growth in a stochastic environment," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 36(3), pages 435-452, September.
    16. Keith Blackburn & Dimitrios Varvarigos, 2006. "Human Capital Accumulation in a Stochastic Environment: Some New Results on the Relationship Between Growth and Volatility," Economics Discussion Paper Series 0618, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    17. Xavier Pautrel, 2009. "Time-separable Utility, Leisure and Human Capital Accumulation: What New Implications for the Environment-Growth Nexus?," Working Papers 2009.104, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    18. Gerhard Glomm & Felix Rioja, 2012. "The Generational Effects of Fiscal Policy in a Small Open Economy," Public Finance Review, , vol. 40(2), pages 151-176, March.

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