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Labor Taxation and FDI decisions in the European Union

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This paper uses panel data on bilateral FDI flows in the European Union to empirically analyze the impact of labor and corporate taxations on FDI decisions. While the effect of corporate taxes on FDI is well documented, the impact of labor taxes on FDI has been neglected. This is surprising since labor taxation may influence FDI as well. The reason for this is that taxation of labor affects the production cost and the ability to attract and retain productive labor and ultimately the investment return. By employing a Heckman two-step estimation model, which controls for possible sample selection bias due to many zero bilateral observations, it is found that labor taxes do influence FDI decisions. The effect is significant both statistically and economically, although the magnitude is smaller than for corporate tax.

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  • Hansson, Åsa & Olofsdotter, Karin, 2011. "Labor Taxation and FDI decisions in the European Union," Working Papers 2011:11, Lund University, Department of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2011_011
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    Cited by:

    1. María J. Prados & Erik Meije & Francisco Pérez-Arce, 2019. "Macroeconomic Effects of Social Security Totalization Agreements," Working Papers wp407, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
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    3. Jan Tecl, 2017. "Labor Taxes and Decision about FDI in the EU," European Financial and Accounting Journal, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2017(2), pages 41-54.
    4. Jan Tecl, 2018. "Measurement of Labour Taxation," European Financial and Accounting Journal, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2018(1), pages 5-18.
    5. Peter Vaz da Fonseca & Michele Nascimento Juca, 2020. "The Influence of Taxes on Foreign Direct Investment: Systematic Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2), pages 55-77.
    6. Dackehag , Margareta & Hansson, Åsa, 2012. "Taxation of Income and Economic Growth: An Empirical Analysis of 25 Rich OECD Countries," Working Papers 2012:6, Lund University, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    labor taxation; foreign direct investment;

    JEL classification:

    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H73 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Interjurisdictional Differentials and Their Effects

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