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Mobility and the lifetime distributional impact of tax and transfer reforms

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  • Peter Levell

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Institute for Fiscal Studies)

  • Barra Roantree

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Economic and Social Research Institute)

  • Jonathan Shaw

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Financial Conduct Authority)

Abstract

This paper examines the distributional impact of increases to out-of-work transfers, increases to work-contingent transfers, and increases in higher rates of income tax over the whole of life. We find that, in contrast to what is implied by standard snapshot analyses, increases to work-contingent benefits are just as effective at redistributing resources to the lifetime poor as increases to out-of-work benefits. This has important implications for the equity-efficiency trade-off typically thought to apply to work-contingent transfers. However, we find that higher rates of tax on annually assessed income are an effective way of targeting the lifetime rich, as incomes are more persistent towards the top of the distribution. Our results illustrate the importance of moving beyond an exclusively snapshot perspective when analysing tax and transfer reforms. This working paper is an updated version of W16/17.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Levell & Barra Roantree & Jonathan Shaw, 2017. "Mobility and the lifetime distributional impact of tax and transfer reforms," IFS Working Papers W17/17, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
  • Handle: RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:17/17
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    2. Julio López Laborda & Carmen Marín González & Jorge Onrubia, 2019. "Observatorio sobre el reparto de los impuestos y las prestaciones monetarias entre los hogares españoles. Cuarto informe: 2016 y 2017," Studies on the Spanish Economy eee2019-36, FEDEA.
    3. Julio López Laborda & Carmen Marín González & Jorge Onrubia, 2024. "Observatorio sobre el reparto de los impuestos y las prestaciones entre los hogares españoles. Octavo informe – 2021," Studies on the Spanish Economy eee2024-04, FEDEA.
    4. Julio López Laborda & Carmen Marín & Jorge Onrubia, 2023. "Observatorio sobre el reparto de los impuestos y las prestaciones entre los hogares españoles," Studies on the Spanish Economy eee2023-01, FEDEA.
    5. Julio López Laborda & Carmen Marín & Jorge Onrubia, 2021. "Observatorio sobre el reparto de los impuestos y las prestaciones entre los hogares españoles. Sexto informe – 2017 y 2018," Studies on the Spanish Economy eee2021-33, FEDEA.
    6. Brewer, Mike & Joyce, Robert & Waters, Tom & Woods, Joseph, 2020. "A method for decomposing the impact of reforms on the long-run income distribution, with an application to universal credit," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    inequality; redistribution; income mobility; lifetime; tax and transfer reform;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General

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