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on Public Finance |
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Issue of 2024‒02‒12
four papers chosen by |
| By: | Michael Keen (UTokyo - The University of Tokyo) |
| Abstract: | This book is a lightly revised version of a report prepared for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France, under the platform Mobilisation des Ressources Intérieures Publiques (MRIP). It provides an overview of core issues in thinking about and advising on tax-based approaches to environmental problems in developing countries. The aim is to bring a rigorous and practicable public finance perspective to the environmental challenges faced by developing countries, with a focus on those over which they have some control. Special attention is paid to nineteen ‘priority countries, ' mainly Francophone and all but one in sub-Sharan Africa. The hope and intent, of course, is that the discussion and analysis have wider application and interest beyond these countries. |
| Abstract: | Cet ouvrage est une version légèrement révisée d'un rapport préparé pour le ministère français de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères, dans le cadre de la plateforme Mobilisation des Ressources Intérieures Publiques (MRIP). Il fournit une revue des principales questions relatives à la fiscalité environnementale des pays en développement. L'objectif est d'apporter un point de vue pratique et rigoureux des finances publiques pour répondre aux défis environnementaux auxquels sont confrontés les pays en développement. Une attention particulière est accordée à dix-neuf «pays prioritaires», principalement francophones et tous situés en Afrique subsaharienne sauf un. L'espoir et l'intention, bien sûr, sont que la discussion et l'analyse aient une application et un intérêt plus larges au-delà de ces pays. |
| Keywords: | Taxation, Environment, Developing countries, fiscalité, environnement, Pays en développement |
| Date: | 2023–12–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04380458&r=pub |
| By: | Fetzer, Thiemo (University and University of Bonn and affiliated with CEPR, CAGE, NIESR, ECONtribute, Grantham Institute); Shaw, Callum (London School of Economics and Political Science); Edenhofer, Jacob (University of Oxford) |
| Abstract: | Formal conceptions of state capacity have mostly focused on indirect measures of state capacity – by, for instance, using the state’s fiscal or extractive capacity as a proxy for its overall capacity. Yet, this input or extractive view of state capacity falls short, especially since cross-country empirical evidence suggests that similar levels of fiscal capacity, measured by tax revenues as a percentage of GDP, can produce starkly different outputs – both in classic economic terms and in broader terms that citizens would recognize as desirable outcomes, including quality of life, health, security, equality of opportunity, and intergenerational mobility. This paper argues that a central step towards addressing these shortcomings of the conventional view is to account for a crucial and largely ignored boundary of the state or dimension of state capacity: its capacity to gather, process, and deploy information in its conduct of fiscal policy. Specifically, we study how the presence or lack of such informational capacity constrains governments in responding to crises, such as the recent energy price shock. Our framework provides the analytical toolkit to examine how the informational boundary of the state shapes the incentives for policymakers to resort to untargeted and/or distortionary policy instruments, as opposed to targeted and non-distortionary ones, in responding to crises. The policy response to the energy crisis following the invasion of Ukraine provides the empirical context upon which we bring this theoretical framework to bear on data, though the latter can be straightforwardly extended to other recent crises. |
| Keywords: | state capacity ; economic development ; carbon taxation ; political economy ; pork-barrel politics JEL Codes: H11 ; O43 ; D63 ; D73 ; Q48 ; P16 ; C21 ; C55 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1487&r=pub |
| By: | Klinges, Giulia (University of Liège); Jousten, Alain (University of Liège); Lefèbvre, Mathieu (Aix Marseille School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Over the years, the Belgian social security system has undergone substantial reform with a prime focus on increasing older worker labor force participation. The paper explores the effect of past reforms on inequality in old age. We distinguish two separate effects: The mechanical effect considers the change in inequality and expected benefit levels due to the reforms for a fixed retirement age distribution. The behavioral effect accounts for the endogenous change caused by changes in the incentives to work. Our results show that mechanically, reforms have led to losses in expected benefits for all but the lowest income quintile. Behavioral changes had a positive but orders of magnitude smaller effect. Overall, inequality decreased as a result of reforms. |
| Keywords: | social security and public pensions, old-age labor supply, retirement, pension reforms, inequality |
| JEL: | D63 H55 I38 J26 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16735&r=pub |
| By: | Patricia Alejandro; Mary Ellen Carter; Denise DiPasquale; Edward Ludwig Glaeser; Adam M. Guren; Paul S. Willen |
| Abstract: | Boston’s high housing costs reflect a historic failure to build enough units to satisfy demand. Interest rates and construction costs have risen recently, and the flow of new market-rate residential housing projects has slowed. To spur more construction, the City of Boston is considering various policy options. Our committee was asked by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu to assess the market impacts of one of these options: real estate tax abatements. This report presents our analysis of the likely effects on the number of units constructed and the costs to taxpayers of various tax abatement alternatives.We do not recommend which policy, if any, the city should pursue; Boston officials are better positioned to assess whether the benefits of these policies warrant the costs to taxpayers. |
| Keywords: | tax abatement; housing supply; Boston |
| JEL: | H2 H71 R31 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedbwp:97647&r=pub |