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Male Labor Supply and Generational Fiscal Policy

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  • Christian vom Lehn

    (Brigham Young University)

  • Aspen Gorry

    (Utah State University)

  • Eric Fisher

    (California Polytechnic State University)

Abstract

Between 1948 and 2000, hours worked per man in the United States fell by twenty percent. Using a life cycle model of labor supply with intensive and extensive margins, we assess how much of this decline can be accounted for by changes in tax and transfer policies. We use policy measures from the generational accounting literature, capturing the lifetime fiscal bur- dens faced by each birth-year cohort. Changes in age demographics and fiscal policy together account for roughly half of the decline in hours worked. Policy alone explains approximately thirty percent, both in the aggregate and for different age groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian vom Lehn & Aspen Gorry & Eric Fisher, 2016. "Male Labor Supply and Generational Fiscal Policy," 2016 Meeting Papers 536, Society for Economic Dynamics.
  • Handle: RePEc:red:sed016:536
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    3. Cooley, Thomas & Henriksen, Espen, 2018. "The demographic deficit," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 45-62.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household
    • H6 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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