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Deviating from the Friedman Rule: A Good Idea with Illegal Immigration?

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  • Alberto Petrucci

    (Department of Economics and Finance, LUISS Guido Carli University)

Abstract

This paper studies the optimal inflation rate in a transactions costs model with illegal immigration. Although unauthorized immigrants use domestic money for making transactions and consume in the host country, their welfare does not enter the objective function of the Ramsey planner, because of their unofficial status. In this environment, the Friedman rule is nonoptimal, when only an income tax is available, as the inflation tax makes it possible to collect revenues from illegal immigrants, who are difficult to subject to taxation. When a consumption tax –that illegal immigrants have to pay when buying consumption goods in the host country– is also available, the zero inflation tax prescription is efficient only if the consumption-money ratio of domestic consumers is not greater than the illegal immigrants’ one.

Suggested Citation

  • Alberto Petrucci, 2015. "Deviating from the Friedman Rule: A Good Idea with Illegal Immigration?," Working Papers CELEG 1502, Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, LUISS Guido Carli.
    • Handle: RePEc:lui:celegw:1502
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Schmitt-Grohe, Stephanie & Uribe, Martin, 2004. "Optimal fiscal and monetary policy under sticky prices," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 114(2), pages 198-230, February.
    2. Chari, V. V. & Christiano, Lawrence J. & Kehoe, Patrick J., 1996. "Optimality of the Friedman rule in economies with distorting taxes," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(2-3), pages 203-223, April.
    3. Chari, V.V. & Kehoe, Patrick J., 1999. "Optimal fiscal and monetary policy," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & M. Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 26, pages 1671-1745, Elsevier.
    4. Schmitt-Grohe, Stephanie & Uribe, Martin, 2004. "Optimal fiscal and monetary policy under imperfect competition," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 183-209, June.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Illegal immigration; Transaction costs technology; Optimal inflation tax; Income tax; Consumption tax.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H22 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Incidence
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • O41 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models

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