IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ucr/wpaper/202112.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Tax Policy and Aggregate Stability in an Overlapping Generations Model

Author

Listed:
  • Jang-Ting Guo

    (Department of Economics, University of California Riverside)

  • Yan Zhang

    (Zhongnan University of Economics and Law)

Abstract

In the context of a two-period non-monetary overlapping generations model with Cobb-Douglas preference and technological specifications, this paper explores the quantitative interrelations between equilibrium (in)determinacy versus (i) a progressive tax schedule on wage income and (ii) a balanced-budget rule with endogenous labor taxation. In sharp contrast to previous studies on a one-sector representative-agent macroeconomy, we find that both fiscal formulations are stabilizing instruments against cyclical fluctuations driven by agents' self-fulfilling beliefs. The key policy implication of our no-indeterminacy result is that depending on what is the underlying analytical environment, countercyclical income taxation may stabilize or destabilize the business cycle.

Suggested Citation

  • Jang-Ting Guo & Yan Zhang, 2021. "Tax Policy and Aggregate Stability in an Overlapping Generations Model," Working Papers 202112, University of California at Riverside, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucr:wpaper:202112
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://economics.ucr.edu/repec/ucr/wpaper/202112.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2021
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jang-Ting Guo & Sharon G. Harrison, 2001. "Tax Policy and Stability in a Model with Sector-Specific Externalities," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 4(1), pages 75-89, January.
    2. Hansen, Gary D., 1985. "Indivisible labor and the business cycle," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 309-327, November.
    3. Galor, Oded, 1992. "A Two-Sector Overlapping-Generations Model: A Global Characterization of the Dynamical System," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 60(6), pages 1351-1386, November.
    4. Lloyd-Braga, Teresa & Nourry, Carine & Venditti, Alain, 2007. "Indeterminacy in dynamic models: When Diamond meets Ramsey," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 134(1), pages 513-536, May.
    5. Guo, Jang-Ting & Lansing, Kevin J., 2009. "Capital-labor substitution and equilibrium indeterminacy," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 33(12), pages 1991-2000, December.
    6. Schmitt-Grohe, Stephanie & Uribe, Martin, 1997. "Balanced-Budget Rules, Distortionary Taxes, and Aggregate Instability," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 105(5), pages 976-1000, October.
    7. Rogerson, Richard, 1988. "Indivisible labor, lotteries and equilibrium," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 3-16, January.
    8. Laitner, John & Stolyarov, Dmitriy, 2004. "Aggregate returns to scale and embodied technical change: theory and measurement using stock market data," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 191-233, January.
    9. Nourry, Carine & Seegmuller, Thomas & Venditti, Alain, 2013. "Aggregate instability under balanced-budget consumption taxes: A re-examination," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 148(5), pages 1977-2006.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Juin‐Jen Chang & Jang‐Ting Guo & Jhy‐Yuan Shieh & Wei‐Neng Wang, 2015. "Sectoral Composition Of Government Spending And Macroeconomic (In)Stability," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 53(1), pages 23-33, January.
    2. Chen, Shu-Hua & Guo, Jang-Ting, 2014. "Progressive taxation and macroeconomic (in)stability with utility-generating government spending," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 174-183.
    3. Juin‐Jen Chang & Jang‐Ting Guo & Jhy‐Yuan Shieh & Wei‐Neng Wang, 2019. "Sectoral composition of government spending, distortionary income taxation, and macroeconomic (in)stability," International Journal of Economic Theory, The International Society for Economic Theory, vol. 15(1), pages 95-107, March.
    4. Kevin X.D. Huang & Qinglai Meng & Jianpo Xue, 2018. "Balanced‐Budget Rules and Aggregate Instability: The Role of Endogenous Capital Utilization," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 50(8), pages 1669-1709, December.
    5. Kevin X.D. Huang & Qinglai Meng & Jianpo Xue, 2019. "Capital Income Taxation and Aggregate Instability," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 19-00007, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    6. Guo, Jang-Ting & Zhang, Yan, 2022. "Balanced-budget rules and macroeconomic stability with overlapping generations," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    7. Chen, Shu-Hua & Guo, Jang-Ting, 2013. "Progressive taxation and macroeconomic (In) stability with productive government spending," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 951-963.
    8. Hyun Park, 2015. "Aggregate Instability and Fiscal Policies: Balanced Budget Rules and Productive Public Spending," Korean Economic Review, Korean Economic Association, vol. 31, pages 25-56.
    9. Kevin x.d. Huang & Qinglai Meng & Jianpo Xue, 2019. "Capital Income Taxation and Aggregate Instability," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 19-00007, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    10. Nishimura, Kazuo & Seegmuller, Thomas & Venditti, Alain, 2015. "Fiscal policy, debt constraint and expectations-driven volatility," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 305-316.
    11. Maxime Menuet & Alexandru Minea & Patrick Villieu, 2019. "The Peril of Fiscal Rules," Post-Print hal-02314996, HAL.
    12. Sergey Slobodyan, 2004. "One Sector Models, Indeterminacy, and Productive Public Spending," Computing in Economics and Finance 2004 314, Society for Computational Economics.
    13. Guo, Jang-Ting & Harrison, Sharon G., 2004. "Balanced-budget rules and macroeconomic (in)stability," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 119(2), pages 357-363, December.
    14. Fujio Takata, 2020. "The Appearance of Indeterminacy Paths-An Economy with the Balanced Budget Rule and without Depreciation," Discussion Papers 2001, Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University.
    15. Guo, Jang-Ting & Sirbu, Anca-Ioana & Weder, Mark, 2015. "News about aggregate demand and the business cycle," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 83-96.
    16. Jang-Ting Guo & Sharon G. Harrison, 2015. "Indeterminacy with Progressive Taxation and Sector-Specific Externalities," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 268-281, May.
    17. Maxime Menuet & Alexandru Minea & Patrick Villieu, 2019. "Budget Rules, Distortionnary Taxes, and Aggregate Instability: A reappraisal," Working Papers hal-02153856, HAL.
    18. Modesto, Leonor & Lloyd-Braga, Teresa & Dufourt, Frédéric, 2005. "Indeterminacy and Unemployment Fluctuations with Constant Returns to Scale in Production," CEPR Discussion Papers 4874, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. Jianpo Xue & Chong K. Yip, 2019. "Balanced‐budget rules and aggregate instability: The role of consumption taxes in a monetary economy," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 403-415, August.
    20. Nikolaos Kokonas & Paulo Santos Monteiro, 2023. "Self-fulfilling labor wedge fluctuations and unemployment insurance," Discussion Papers 2313, Centre for Macroeconomics (CFM).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tax Policy; Equilibrium Indeterminacy; Overlapping Generations Model.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ucr:wpaper:202112. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kelvin Mac (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/deucrus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.