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The Rise of Pass-Throughs and the Decline of the Labor Share

Author

Listed:
  • Matthew Smith

    (US Treasury Department)

  • Danny Yagan

    (UC Berkeley and NBER)

  • Owen Zidar

    (Princeton University and NBER)

  • Eric Zwick

    (Chicago Booth and NBER)

Abstract

We study the coevolution of the fall in the U.S. corporate-sector labor share and the rise of business activity in tax-preferred pass-throughs. We find that reallocating activity to the form it would have taken prior to the Tax Reform Act of 1986 accounts for one third of the decline in the corporate-sector labor share between 1978 and 2017. Our adjustments are concentrated among mid-market firms in services, magnifying the role of the manufacturing sector and superstar firms in driving the remaining decline in the labor share. Our findings highlight the importance of tax policy when measuring factor shares.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew Smith & Danny Yagan & Owen Zidar & Eric Zwick, 2021. "The Rise of Pass-Throughs and the Decline of the Labor Share," Working Papers 2021-18, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    • Handle: RePEc:pri:econom:2021-18
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Andrea L. Eisfeldt & Antonio Falato & Mindy Z. Xiaolan, 2023. "Human Capitalists," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(1), pages 1-61.
    3. Perri, Fabrizio & Atkeson, Andy & Heathcote, Jonathan, 2022. "The End of Privilege: A Reexamination of the Net Foreign Asset Position of the United States," CEPR Discussion Papers 17268, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Bellocchi, Alessandro & Marin, Giovanni & Travaglini, Giuseppe, 2023. "The labor share puzzle: Empirical evidence for European countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    5. Amy Finkelstein & Casey McQuillan & Owen Zidar & Eric Zwick, 2023. "The Health Wedge and Labor Market Inequality," Working Papers 2023-01, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    6. Adhikari, Bibek & Alm, James & Harris, Timothy F., 2021. "Small business tax compliance under third-party reporting," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    7. Hubert Drazkowski & Sebastian Zalas, 2023. "The evolution of labor share in Poland. New evidence from firm-level data," GRAPE Working Papers 82, GRAPE Group for Research in Applied Economics.
    8. Catherine Laffineur & Maria Minniti & Benjamin Montmartin, 2023. "Does Knowledge in Management Foster Firm Creation and Performance?," GREDEG Working Papers 2023-19, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    9. Sebastian Zalas & Hubert Drążkowski, 2023. "The Evolution of the Labour Share in Poland: New Evidence from Firm-Level Data," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 3, pages 13-33.
    10. Francesco Furno, 2021. "The Macroeconomic Effects of Corporate Tax Reforms," Papers 2111.12799, arXiv.org.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    business; taxes;

    JEL classification:

    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • M20 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Economics - - - General

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