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Optimal taxation under equilibrium unemployment and economic profits

Jiang, Wei (2019) Optimal taxation under equilibrium unemployment and economic profits. BE Journal of Macroeconomics, 19 (1). Article Number 20170147. ISSN 1935-1690. E-ISSN 1935-1690. (doi:10.1515/bejm-2017-0226) (KAR id:66809)

Abstract

This paper develops a heterogeneous agent model with equilibrium unemployment and economic profits due to productive public investment. We find that the presence of profits plays an important role in the determination of long-run optimal tax policy. The Judd-Chamley optimal zero capital tax result can still hold in the model without profits. In this case, the optimal wedge is zero in the long run, resulting in welfare gains for all agents and no conflict of interests between agents. But the Benthamite government chooses to subsidise capital income in the long run in the model with economic profits. The resulting labour wedge is non-zero which generates welfare losses of workers despite welfare gains of capitalists. The government also faces a trade-off between efficiency and equity in this case.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1515/bejm-2017-0226
Uncontrolled keywords: household heterogeneity, equilibrium unemployment, economic profits, optimal taxation
Subjects: H Social Sciences
H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Economics
Depositing User: Wei Jiang
Date Deposited: 23 Apr 2018 09:49 UTC
Last Modified: 09 Dec 2022 01:24 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/66809 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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