http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/4108/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/38196/ 2012-10-02T00:00:00Z This paper analytically derives the conditions under which the slope of the tax reaction function is negative in a classical tax competition model. If countries maximize welfare, we show that a negative slope (reflecting strategic substitutability) occurs under relatively mild conditions. Simulations suggest that strategic substitutability occurs under plausible parameter configurations. The strategic tax response is crucial for understanding tax competition games, as well as for assessing the welfare effects of partial tax unions (whereby a subset of countries coordinate their tax rates). Indeed, contrary to earlier findings that have assumed strategic complementarity in tax rates, we show that partial tax unions might reduce welfare under strategic substitutability. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/31684/ 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z We assess the quantitative impact of two reforms to corporation tax, which would eliminate the differential treatment of debt and equity: the allowance for corporate equity (ACE) and the comprehensive business income tax (CBIT). We explore the impact of these reforms on various decision margins, using an applied general equilibrium model for the EU calibrated with recent empirical estimates of elasticities. The results suggest that, if governments adjust statutory corporate tax rates to balance their budget, profit shifting and discrete location render CBIT more attractive for most individual European countries. European coordination makes a joint ACE more, and a joint CBIT less efficient. A combination of ACE and CBIT is always welfare improving. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/17829/ 2009-12-31T00:00:00Z This paper analyzes enhanced cooperation agreements in corporate taxation in a three country tax competition model where countries differ in size. We characterize equilibrium tax rates and the optimal tax responses due to the formation of an enhanced cooperation agreement. Conditions for strategic complementarity or strategic substitutability of tax rates are crucial for the welfare effects of enhanced cooperation. Simulations show that enhanced cooperation is unlikely to be feasible for small countries. When enhanced cooperation is feasible, it may hamper global harmonization. Only when countries are of similar size is global harmonization a feasible outcome. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11768/ 2008-02-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11769/ 2008-02-01T00:00:00Z European governments aim to raise labour supply, cut unemployment and, at the same time, maintain social cohesion. Yet, economists have stressed the trade-off between these objectives. This paper reviews the key policy insights from optimal tax theory to identify options for reform in the tax-benefit system that can potentially improve the equity-efficiency trade-off. Using a comprehensive applied general equilibrium model, we then explore whether reforms along these lines in the Dutch tax-benefit system raise employment without sacrificing equality. The analysis reveals that selective tax relief for elastic secondary earners and low-skilled workers have this potential. A flat income tax structure, possibly combined with a negative income tax, worsens the equity-efficiency trade-off. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11770/ 2007-09-01T00:00:00Z This paper draws on Van Ewijk et al. (2006), which provides a more detailed analysis of subsidies on owner-occupied housing in the Netherlands and presents a number of scenarios for reform, and on Jacobs (2007), which provides a model underlying the welfare-economic analysis. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/10441/ 2007-05-30T00:00:00Z This paper analyzes the impact of corporate taxes on structural unemployment, using an applied general equilibrium model for the European Union. We find that the unemployment and welfare effects of corporate taxes differ considerably among European countries. The magnitude of these effects rise in particular in the broadness of the corporate tax base of a country, and the strength of international spillover effects through foreign direct investment. The effect on unemployment is smaller if the substitution elasticity between labour and capital is large, if international spillover effects operate primarily via multinational profit shifting, and if equilibrium forces on the labour market are strong. Although the effect of corporate taxes on unemployment may be smaller than the effect of labour and value-added taxes (e.g. under relatively strong real wage resistance), the welfare costs of corporate taxation are typically larger for most European countries under plausible parameters, especially under strong international spillovers. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/9265/ 2007-03-22T00:00:00Z In Europe, declining corporate tax rates have come along with rising tax-to-GDP ratios. This paper explores to what extent income shifting from the personal to the corporate tax base can explain these diverging developments. We exploit a panel of European data on firm births and legal form of business to analyze income shifting via increased entrepreneurship and incorporation. The results suggest that lower corporate taxes exert an ambiguous effect on entrepreneurship. The effect on incorporation is significant and large. It implies that the revenue effects of lower corporate tax rates – possibly induced by tax competition -- partly show up in lower personal tax revenues rather than lower corporate tax revenues. Simulations suggest that between 10% and 17% of corporate tax revenue can be attributed to income shifting. Income shifting is found to have raised the corporate tax-to-GDP ratio by some 0.2%-points since the early 1990s. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12030/ 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z De Nederlandse welvaartsstaat is niet voldoende toegesneden op de toekomst. De vergrijzing jaagt de kosten van de oudedagsvoorziening en de zorg op, waardoor de spanning tussen jong en oud groeit. Tegelijkertijd dreigen economische integratie en technologische ontwikkeling de positie van laaggeschoolden op de arbeidsmarkt te verslechteren (Nahuis en De Groot, 2003). Verder is de verzorgingsstaat onvoldoende aangepast aan de toegenomen heterogeniteit in de samenleving en werken instituties langdurige inactiviteit in de hand. Er moet daarom verder worden hervormd in de Nederlandse verzorgingsstaat. Maar hoe? http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12036/ 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z De invloed van beleidshervormingen op de werkgelegenheid is in belangrijke mate afhankelijk van de loonelasticiteit van het arbeidsaanbod. Ondanks de enorme hoeveelheid empirische studies is de hoogte van deze elasticiteit nog altijd onderwerp van discussie. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12049/ 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z De Nederlandse overheid streeft naar een vergroting van de arbeidsdeelname en een verhoging van het kennisniveau van de beroepsbevolking. Dit moet bijdragen aan de betaalbaarheid van het stelsel van collectieve voorzieningen zodat solidariteit in de toekomst gewaarborgd kan blijven. Het belastingstelsel speelt hierbij een belangrijke rol. Immers, herverdelende belastingheffing vermindert de prikkels voor arbeidsaanbod en leren. Dit is echter een onvermijdelijk gevolg van het maatschappelijk streven naar het beperken van ongelijkheid. Toch zijn sommige vormen van herverdeling meer verstorend dan andere. Door slimme gerichte hervormingen kan het fiscale stelsel de negatieve effecten op de arbeidsdeelname verkleinen, zonder dat de koopkracht van de minstbedeelden daalt. Deze bijdrage onderzoekt dergelijke opties. Daarbij maken we gebruik van de inzichten uit de economische theorie alsook van simulaties met het MIMIC model van het CPB. De bijdrage richt zich in het bijzonder op drie doelgroepen: laaggeschoolden, vrouwen en ouderen. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12051/ 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z Internationalisering zet de belastingheffing van kapitaalinkomen onder druk. In Nederland heeft dat al eerder tot hervormingen geleid. In 2001 verving Nederland haar hoge inkomstenbelastingtarief op rente en dividend door een veel lager tarief van 30 procent op een forfaitair rendement. Tussen 2003 en 2007 verlaagde de regering het tarief van de vennootschapsbelasting van 35 naar 25½ procent. Andere Europese landen hebben vergelijkbare hervormingen doorgevoerd. Maar: is het wel verstandig dat landen haasje‐over spelen met de belasting op kapitaalinkomen? Houden ze elkaar niet in de greep van een spel waarbij uiteindelijk alleen verliezers zijn? In een internationale wereld zijn er twee beginselen van belastingheffing op kapitaalinkomen: het bronbeginsel en het woonlandbeginsel. Onder het bronbeginsel wordt kapitaalinkomen belast in het land waar dat wordt gegenereerd; onder het woonlandbeginsel bij de eigenaar in het land waar deze is gevestigd over zijn wereldwijde inkomen.1 Nederland belast kapitaalinkomen − net als andere landen − zowel op basis van het bronbeginsel (de vennootschapsbelasting) als het woonlandbeginsel (de inkomstenbelasting). Beide beginselen staan onder druk van internationalisering: de bronheffing door belastingconcurrentie tussen overheden; de woonlandheffing door internationale belastingontduiking. De uitdaging voor overheden is hierop een antwoord te vinden. Dient het bronbeginsel te worden bestendigd, bijvoorbeeld door in Europa over te gaan tot harmonisatie van de vennootschapsbelasting? Of is het beter om te bewegen in de richting van toepassing http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12053/ 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z Dit artikel gaat over de arbeidsmarktpositie van laagopgeleiden in Nederland. We starten met een beschrijving van knelpunten. Naast de welbekende armoede- en productiviteitsval komen hier ook de (problematische) aansluiting tussen (beroeps)onderwijs en de arbeidsmarkt en voortijdig schoolverlaten aan de orde. Vervolgens kijken we naar de verwachte toekomstige positie van laagopgeleiden en de factoren die daarop van invloed zijn. We concluderen dat er naar verwachting de komende jaren op macro-niveau geen banentekort aan de onderkant zal ontstaan, maar dat op individueel niveau de positie van laagopgeleiden kan verslechteren. Dit komt doordat de vereisten van laaggeschoold werk veranderen en doordat de werkgelegenheidsgroei aan de onderkant sectoraal geconcentreerd is. Op basis van de beschrijving van knelpunten en toekomstige verwachtingen sluiten we af met het formuleren van tien wenselijke beleidsmaatregelen om de arbeidsmarktpositie van laagopgeleiden te verbeteren. Deze maatregelen liggen op vier terreinen: 1) vraagstimulering; 2) aanbodstimulering; 3) verbetering kwalificatieniveau en 4) re-integratie/matching vraag en aanbod. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/7419/ 2006-02-14T00:00:00Z This paper performs a meta-analysis of empirical estimates of uncompensated labour supply elasticities. We find that much of the variation in elasticities can be explained by the variation in gender, participation rates, and country fixed effects. Country differences appear to be small though. There is no systematic impact of the model specification or marital status on reported elasticities. The decision to participate is more responsive than is the decision regarding hours worked. Even at the intensive margin, we find that the elasticity for women exceeds that for men. For men and women in the Netherlands, we predict an uncompensated labour supply elasticity of 0.1 (or 0.2 if an alternative specification is preferred) and 0.5, respectively. These values are robust for alternative samples and specifications of the meta regression. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12020/ 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12021/ 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z We bespreken enkele welvaartsdividenden van het versoberen van de subsidie op de eigen woning. Deze dividenden doen zich in de eerste plaats voor op de woningmarkt. Daarnaast kan zich een welvaartsdividend voordoen op de arbeidsmarkt. De omvang van dit tweede dividend is evenwel sterk afhankelijk van de elasticiteit van het aanbod van woningen. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/7599/ 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z De Nederlandse verzorgingsstaat staat onder druk. Toekomstige trends als vergrijzing en globalisering dreigen de overheidsfinanciën onhoudbaar te maken en verslechteren de positie van laaggeschoolden. Tegelijkertijd lijkt de verzorgingsstaat onvoldoende aangepast aan veranderde sociale verhoudingen. Bovendien lokt ze langdurige inactiviteit uit bij onder meer uitkeringsgerechtigden, ouderen en vrouwen. Om in te spelen op toekomstige ontwikkelingen staat het vergroten van de arbeidsdeelname en het investeren in menselijk kapitaal hoog op de Nederlandse beleidsagenda. Deze studie onderzoekt hoe hervormingen in de verzorgingsstaat aan die doelstellingen kunnen bijdragen. Daarbij wordt rekening gehouden met de sociale en economische functies die de verzorgingsstaat in onze samenleving vervult. De studie analyseert diverse afzonderlijke hervormingsopties vanuit een breed welvaartsperspectief en kwantificeert de effecten op de arbeidsmarkt en de inkomensverdeling. We ontwikkelen tevens drie alomvattende toekomstbeelden voor de Nederlandse verzorgingsstaat en onderzoeken hoe robuust deze alternatieven zijn voor toekomstige internationale trends in immigratie, economische integratie en technologische ontwikkeling. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/7428/ 2005-12-06T00:00:00Z This study aims to explain the variation in empirical estimates in the literature on the elasticity of foreign direct investment with respect to company tax levels. To that end, we extend the meta analysis of De Mooij and Ederveen (2003) by considering an alternative classification of the literature, including new studies that have recently become available, and by paying more systematic attention to various control variables in primary studies. We find that the type of capital data and tax data exert a systematic impact on reported elasticities. Also controlling for openness and agglomeration tendencies appears to significantly affect the elasticity values. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11777/ 2005-09-01T00:00:00Z This paper explores the future of corporate income taxation, with special reference to the Netherlands. We review the empirical literature on a variety of distortions and arbitrage opportunities and pay due attention to effect sizes. An attempt is made to compare the size of various distortions in terms of the ex-post revenue impact of a corporate tax reduction. Thus, we learn which distortions impose the most serious threat to government revenue. This integrative approach allows us to understand recent developments in corporate tax regimes in the EU. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11783/ 2005-05-01T00:00:00Z Discusses the introduction of money illusion to rescue the double dividend, based on labor supply. Expansion of the environmental tax reform rather than contract employment; Effects of value-added tax on nominal labor productivity and nominal wages; Enhancement of incentives to supply labor. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11779/ 2005-04-11T00:00:00Z We explore the economic implications of the possible Turkish accession to the European Union. We focus on three main changes associated with Turkish membership: (i) accession to the internal European Market; (ii) institutional reforms in Turkey triggered by EU-membership; and (iii) migration in response to the free movement of workers. Overall, the macroeconomic implications for EU countries are small but positive. European exports increase by around 20%. Turkey experiences larger economic gains than the EU: consumption per capita is estimated to rise by about 4% as a result of accession to the internal market and free movement of labour. If Turkey would succeed in reforming its domestic institutions in response to EU-membership, consumption per capita in Turkey could raise by an additional 9%. These benefits would spill over to the EU. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12007/ 2005-01-01T00:00:00Z Het kabinet wil toe naar grondslagverbreding en tariefverlaging in de vennootschapsbelasting. Dit vermindert de doelmatigheid. Tegelijkertijd voorkomt het de uitstroom van fiscale winst naar het buitenland. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12012/ 2005-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12015/ 2005-01-01T00:00:00Z Ons land kent in vergelijking met andere landen een hoog aandeel deeltijdwerk en het aandeel blijft toenemen. Dit vraagt om beleidsaanpassing. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1961/ 2004-10-13T00:00:00Z Het CPB is op dit moment bezig met een studie naar de toekomst van de Nederlandse verzorgingsstaat. Als onderdeel daarvan is een analyse gemaakt van de efficiente vormgeving van de werkloosheidsverzekering op basis van de internationale theoretische en empirische literatuur. Dit biedt diverse inzichten die relevant zijn voor de discussie over de toekomst van de WW in Nederland. Onderwerpen die aan de orde komen zijn onder andere de hoogte en duur van de WW uitkering, de spaar-WW, sancties en activeringsbeleid, en de relatie van de WW met ontslagkosten voor werkgevers. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/6641/ 2004-06-01T00:00:00Z This paper estimates Nash-type fiscal reaction functions for European governments competing for revenue from diesel excises. It appears that European governments strategically set their excise levels by responding to their neighbors’ tax rates. This provides evidence for the presence of tax competition in diesel excises. In fact, a 10% higher rate in neighboring countries (in terms of the user price) induces a country to raise its own rate by between 2 and 3%. This impact is robust for alternative specifications. By imposing restrictions on excise levels, EU harmonization of excises in 1987 and the introduction of a minimum in 1992 exerted a positive impact on the excise level in a number of EU countries. It has not, however, significantly reduced the intensity of tax competition. Indeed, strategic tax responses have not significantly been reduced by these harmonization policies. We also find that high-tax countries appear to compete more aggressively tha! n low-tax countries in the sense that they feature larger strategic tax responses. There is no significant difference between large and small countries. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11989/ 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z Het voorstel voor een Europees minimumtarief voor de vennootschapsbelasting is verstandig. Enerzijds voorkomt een minimumtarief een al te scherpe race naar de bodem. Anderzijds blijft de mogelijkheid voor belastingsconcurrentie bestaan. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11999/ 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11785/ 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z This paper reviews the empirical literature on the impact of company taxes on the allocation of foreign direct investment. We compare the outcomes of 25 empirical studies by computing the tax rate elasticity under a uniform definition. The median value of the tax rate elasticity in the literature is around –3.3 (i.e. a 1%-point reduction in the host-country tax rate raises foreign direct investment in that country by 3.3%). There exists substantial variation across studies, however. By performing a meta-analysis, the paper aims to explain this variation by the differences in characteristics of the underlying studies. Systematic differences between studies are found with respect to the type of foreign capital data used, and the type of tax rates adopted. We find no systematic differences in the responsiveness of investors from tax credit countries and tax exemption countries. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11786/ 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11917/ 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11948/ 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z De overheid rekent het tot haar taak het eigenwoningbezit te bevorderen en goede en betaalbare huisvesting te garanderen voor lage inkomens. De beleidsinstrumenten om deze doelstellingen te realiseren zijn daarop echter te weinig toegespitst en creëren verstoringen op de woonmarkt. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11969/ 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z De kwantitatieve gevolgen van Europese integratie en sociaal-economisch beleid in de toekomst worden gevat in vier scenario's. Dit kan dienen als denkraam voor toekomstig beleid. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11970/ 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1955/ 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z This paper develops a model of search on the labour market with training. We explore how the combination of an average job tax and a marginal wage tax can be used to alleviate inefficiencies in job matching and, at the same time, raise a positive revenue with minimal distortions in search and training. We find that (i) a wage tax is less distortionary to raise revenue than is a job tax if training is not distorted initially; (ii) this conclusion may reverse in the presence of training distortions; (iii) marginal wage taxes are less distortionary in economies where bargaining parties can commit to the wage profile http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/6817/ 2002-04-25T00:00:00Z Meta-analysis is a research method to synthesise previously obtained research results. It is best seen as a statistical approach towards reviewing and summarising the literature. This paper aims to introduce and critically review the research method of meta-analysis and to illustrate its potential use in applied economic policy analysis. Special attention will be paid to the possibilities for value transfer and the possibilities to improve the calibration of existing macroeconomic policy models. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11792/ 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z Many articles on the compatibility between growth and environmental preservation provide one single view and use particular concepts. Indeed, debates between advocates and opponents of economic growth are usually unfruitful since people do not talk the same language. The aim of this paper is to provide some clarification in this debate by offering a systematic comparison of perspectives on the basis of a benchmark economic-environmental framework. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11900/ 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z Meta-analyse wordt in toenemende mate toegepast binnen de economische wetenschap. Er is op veel onderzoeksterreinen echter nog een wereld te winnen. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11901/ 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z De scepsis over een mogelijk overhaaste uitbreiding neemt toe. Welke effecten op consumptie en handel mogen worden verwacht? http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11910/ 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11911/ 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z Aanvankelijk vervulde het Stabiliteitspact een nuttige functie: duidelijke regels waarborgden de monetaire integratie. Door de vergrijzing en de conjuncturele verslechtering is het Pact aan herziening toe. Meer ruimte voor stabilisatiebeleid en het mede beschouwen van de pensioensituatie zijn belangrijker dan strikte naleving van het Pact omwille van geloofwaardigheid. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11914/ 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z De afschaffing van het spaarloon is op inhoudelijke gronden wel te verdedigen. Dat de spaarloonfaciliteit plaats maakt voor een nieuwe ingewikkelde levensloopregeling is moeilijker te onderbouwen. Het is beter om de bestaande regelingen te hervormen. Eventueel kunnen ze worden gekoppeld aan een fiscale levensloopregeling die is gebaseerd op de omkeerregel. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11795/ 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z Should cohesion policy in the EU be reformed? This question becomes pressing in light of the coming enlargement of the EU. Indeed, without reform enlargement will involve an increase in the budget for cohesion policies, as well as a reallocation of funds across regions. Furthermore, it is an appropriate occasion to rethink the various rules and criteria associated with cohesion policies. Recently, the European Commission published its Second Report on Economic and Social Cohesion (henceforth SRESC, (2001)). The report praises the effectiveness of current cohesion policies and suggests a mere continuation of current practices in the future. This paper challenges this conclusion and discusses some options for reform. The paper starts with a brief introduction to the current cohesion policy and the changes that will occur in light of EU enlargement. Subsequently, we address two questions. Is there a need for cohesion policy reform? And if so, how should it be reformed? http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11899/ 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z Een gevoel van onbehagen. Dat maakt zich nogal eens meester van ons als het gaat om het belastingstelsel. Onbehagen over gebrek aan rechtvaardigheid, grote verstoringen, en hoge uitvoeringskosten door de enorme complexiteit. Dit inspireert economen geheel nieuwe belastingconcepten te bedenken. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11895/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11896/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z Op vijf beleidsterreinen hebben het CPB en het SCP een toekomstverkenning voor het kabinet gemaakt. Dit artikel geeft de hoofdlijnen van de CPB-bijdrage. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11898/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z Een lagere effectieve druk op ondernemingen is in Nederland niet noodzakelijk, maar een lager tarief van de vennootschapsbelasting is wél wenselijk. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1952/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z This paper develops an applied general equilibrium model to explore various tax cuts aimed at combating unemployment and raising labor supply. The model calibrates modern labor-market theories on wage setting, job matching, labor supply and labor demand on Dutch data. It represents the core of a larger applied general equilibrium model for the Netherlands called MIMIC. Simulations reveal that targeting in-work benefits at the low skilled is the most effective way to cut economy-wide unemployment. However, targeting is likely to damage the quality and quantity of labor supply. Tax cuts in the higher tax brackets boost the quantity and quality of formal labor supply but are less effective in reducing unemployment and in raising unskilled employment and female labor supply. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1954/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z In recent policy discussions in the Netherlands, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has been put forward as an instrument to reduce the unemployment rate among low-skilled workers. Using MIMIC, CPB’s applied general equilibrium model for the Netherlands, this article discusses the economic impact of different forms of the EITC. The analysis reveals that moderately targeting the EITC to the unskilled makes the instrument more effective in reducing unemployment. The targeting concept features decreasing returns, however. Indeed, it may be counterproductive if the EITC is targeted at a very small income range. Furthermore, targeting the EITC to the low skilled induces adverse effects on the quality and quantity of labour supply because it raises the marginal tax burden on medium-income workers. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1950/ 1999-01-01T00:00:00Z This paper explores the consequences of lower disability benefits on the number of people in disability schemes and unemployment schemes. In particular, a principal agent model is developed in which a control agency assigns either disability benefits or unemployment benefits to jobless workers. As the control agency (the agent) takes the interest of both the government (the principal) and the worker into account, there is a possibility of improper use of disability schemes by so-called hidden unemployed. The model is estimated in error correction form by using Dutch data. We find that approximately 50 percent of disability benefits in The Netherlands is due to improper use. The partial framework is linked to an applied general equilibrium model for the Dutch economy, labeled MIMIC. Accordingly, we are able to explore the effects of lower social benefit levels on official and hidden unemployment. More specifically, lower benefit levels may exert, first, a substitution effect between unemployment schemes and disability schemes and, second, a scale effect on total unemployment through several general equilibrium mechanisms. Simulations suggest that reducing disability benefits by 5 percentage points while maintaining unemployment benefits will reduce total unemployment by 0.7 percent. Almost half of this reduction is due to lower hidden unemployment. Reducing unemployment benefits by 5 percentage points while keeping disability schemes unaffected, raises hidden unemployment slightly while reducing total unemployment by 0.8 percent. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1951/ 1999-01-01T00:00:00Z This paper analyses the impact of fiscal policy on the labour market by using an applied general equilibrium model for The Netherlands, called MIMIC. In particular, we explore the economic effects of changes in the tax system that currently receive much attention in the Dutch policy debate including, lower marginal tax rates, reductions in social premiums paid by employers targeted at the unskilled, vouchers for long-term unemployed, and earned income tax credits. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1960/ 1999-01-01T00:00:00Z CPB’s applied general equilibrium model for the Dutch economy, MIMIC, has recently been extended to include the effects of taxation on training incentives. This paper elaborates on the training model. Furthermore, it illustrates how the extension with a training model affects the simulation results of MIMIC. I find that the incorporation of a training model has important implications for the quality of the labour supply, especially in tax experiments that substantially affect the marginal tax burden. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11281/ 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z In de verkiezingsprogramma's van de vijf grote partijen schuilt een elementair verschil in opvatting over de relatie tussen milieu en economie. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11799/ 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z This paper explores the welfare effects of public consumption, income transfers and public investment financed through different types of taxes. One surprising result is that, contrary to public consumption goods, public capital goods do not necessarily become less attractive if distortionary taxes, rather than lump-sum taxes, are necessary to finance them. The numerical simulations reveal that the net welfare effects of public investments in the Netherlands are typically positive if financed through lump-sum taxes or distortionary taxes on labor. However, if a source-based capital tax is adopted to finance public investments, the overall welfare effect may be negative. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11802/ 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z This paper deals with the so-called double dividend of an environmental tax reform. In a model with only labor and a polluting input as factors of production, we find that society faces a trade-off between internalizing environmental externalities and raising revenues in the least distortionary way. However, if capital enters the production structure, an ecological tax reform may render the tax structure more efficient from a non-environmental point of view, thereby raising not only environmental quality but also private incomes. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11893/ 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z Als er ruimte is voor lastenverlichting, welke variant is dan het meest gunstig voor de arbeidsmarkt? Met de nieuwe versie van MIMIC heeft het Centraal Planbureau dit doorgerekend. Een belastingkorting voor laagbetaalde werknemers blijkt het meest effectief. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1956/ 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z The tax reform proposals by the Dutch government include several shifts in the tax structure and a cut in the overall tax burden. This paper argues that these reform proposals reduce the unemployment rate only if the gap between wage incomes and unemployment benefits increases and the overall tax burden drops. Targeting the tax reduction to the unskilled seems the most effective way to cut unemployment. However, such targeted measures raise the marginal tax on other incomes, thereby harming the quantity and quality of labor supply. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1957/ 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z Premium differentiation in disability insurance encourages employers to improve working conditions in order to combat disability. Furthermore, by introducing competition in disability insurance, the implementation and administration of the insurance becomes more efficient. This advantage does not apply to premium differentiation in unemployment schemes because the unemployment risk, which is correlated among firms, cannot be insured by private companies. Premium differentiation may even have unfavorable consequences by raising unemployment duration. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1958/ 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z MIMIC is CPB’s applied general equilibrium model for the Dutch economy. The model is designed to help Dutch policymakers investigate the structural labormarket implications of changes in the systems of taxation and social insurance. MIMIC combines a rich theoretical framework based on modern economic theories, a firm empirical foundation, and an elaborate description of the actual tax and social insurance systems in the Netherlands. The theoretical foundation of the model implies that one can interpret the model results rather easily in terms of rational microeconomic behavior, despite the disaggregated nature of the model and its rich institutional detail. This institutional detail makes the model especially relevant for policymaking. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1959/ 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z In recent policy discussions in the Netherlands, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has been put forward as an effective instrument to reduce the unemployment rate among low-skilled workers. Using the MIMIC model, this article shows that a targeted EITC at low incomes indeed seems effective in reducing unemployment. However, the targeting concept features decreasing returns. Furthermore, targeting typically harms the quantity and quality of labour supply. The EITC based on hourly wages, which has been proposed in the Netherlands, also suffers from serious problems related to tax design. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/7794/ 1997-10-01T00:00:00Z The debate on growth versus environment, including the more recent literature on sustainable development, is systematically evaluated in a stylized framework. Diffent perspectives on the conflict and relation between the economy, growth and the natural environment, have created a situation where people do not talk the same language. A conceptual framework is developed which allows to explain main diffences between alternative perspectives. Five categories are distinguished, labelled as: "the immaterialist", "the pessimist", "the technocrat", "carpe diem" and "the optimist". Both the conceptual framework and a set of characteristics (time horizon, ideology, prediction and policy implication) are used to compare these perspectives. Primarily the choice of a time horizon and the subjective evaluation of technical potential, the flexibility of social preferences and institutions, and the stability and resilience of natural systems, explain differences between the perspectives. Such a systematic confrontation is hoped to contribute to more consensus and understanding between supporters of alternative perspectives. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11807/ 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z This paper explores how an environmental tax reform impacts pollution, economic growth and welfare in an endogenous growth model with pre-existing tax distortions. We find that a shift in the tax mix away from output taxes towards pollution taxes may raise economic growth through two channels. The first channel is an environmental production externality, which determines the positive effect of lower aggregate pollution on the productivity of capital. The second channel is a shift in the tax burden away from the net return on investment towards profits. The paper also shows that the optimal tax on pollution may exceed its Pigovian level if tax-shifting towards profits is large and production externalities are important. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11818/ 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z With no revenue requirement, or where government can use lump-sum taxes, Arthur C. Pigou (1947) shows that the first-best tax on pollution is equal to the marginal environmental damage. Consumers then pay the social marginal cost of each item, the direct cost of resources, plus the indirect cost of pollution. Suppose government needs more revenue, however, and cannot use lump-sum taxes. In this second-best world, our intuition might tell us to raise all tax rates: the tax on any "clean" commodity should be raised above its first-- best level of zero, and the tax on a "dirty" good should be raised above its first-best Pigovian level (the marginal environmental damage) . Despite this intuition, a recent paper by A. Lans Bovenberg and Ruud A. de Mooij ( 1994 p. 1085 ) claims to "... demonstrate that, in the presence of preexisting distortionary taxes, the optimal pollution tax typically lies below the Pigovian tax...." This note argues that nothing is necessarily wrong with the intuition that all taxes should be raised. Nothing is wrong with the Bovenberg and de Mooij model either, but the above quote could be misinterpreted. I generalize their model to reconcile these opposing views. Earlier writers have expressed several versions of the "double-dividend hypothesis."1 These views are discussed more below, but a strong version of this hypothesis might claim that a revenue-neutral switch toward a tax on the dirty good and away from taxation of clean goods can improve environmental quality and reduce the overall cost of tax distortions. By implication, this view might suggest that any additional revenue requirements should be met by raising the tax on the dirty good by more than taxes on clean goods. The important and correct result of Bovenberg and de Mooij is that this strong view is flawed.2 Even if the pollution tax helps solve an environmental problem, it likely worsens other tax distortions. Thus, the tax on the dirty good should rise by less than the tax on the clean good. Bovenberg and de Mooij focus on the differential between the tax rates on the clean and dirty goods, but they never quite say so. They assume the tax on the clean good is always zero, so their dirt tax is the differential. With this choice of normalization, starting with the dirt tax at the Pigovian rate, additional revenue would be raised by the labor tax while the dirt tax (differential) would fall. However, other normalizations are equally valid and sometimes preferable. In their model, the extra labor tax is equivalent to a uniform tax on both goods. Thus, from the same starting point with the dirt tax at the Pigovian level, an equivalent policy would raise both the commodity tax rates. The total tax on the dirty good would then exceed the Pigovian level. Bovenberg and de Mooij clearly understand this point, but their readers might not. Therefore, the first purpose of this note is just to clarify the interpretation of their results. The second purpose is to explore the role of "normalization" in a model with tax rates on both goods and on labor. Any one tax rate can be set to zero, as a conceptual matter, but implementation of some taxes might be easier than others as a practical matter. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11849/ 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z Van Elswijk bepleit een andere financiering van de sociale zekerheid, waarin de lasten niet meer op arbeid, maar op toegevoegde waarde drukken. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1949/ 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z This paper endogenizes technology and human capital formation in the MESEM model that was developed by van Sinderen (Economic Modelling, 1993, 13, 285-300). Tax allowances for private R&D expenditures and public expenditures on both education and R& D are effective instruments to stimulate economic growth. Simulations with respect to market clearing, the importance of supply-side elements and key parameters (such as the magnitude of spillovers and substitution elasticities) reveal that tax allowances for private R & D are the most robust instrument to increase economic growth through the accumulation of knowledge. Contrary to other studies that find that technology policies typically reduce employment, we find that overall employment rises. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/21531/ 1996-07-01T00:00:00Z This paper endogenizes technology and human capital formation in the MESEM model that was developed by van Sinderen (Economic Modelling, 1993, 13, 285-300). Tax allowances for private R&D expenditures and public expenditures on both education and R& D are effective instruments to stimulate economic growth. Simulations with respect to market clearing, the importance of supply-side elements and key parameters (such as the magnitude of spillovers and substitution elasticities) reveal that tax allowances for private R & D are the most robust instrument to increase economic growth through the accumulation of knowledge. Contrary to other studies that find that technology policies typically reduce employment, we find that overall employment rises. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11851/ 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z Milieuheffingen houden meestal een verandering van eigendomsrechten in: van de vervuiler naar de overheid. Het ligt voor de hand dat zo'n verschuiving veel weerstanden in de samenleving oproept. Daarom is het verstandig om deze verschuiving zoveel mogelijk te beperken, bijvoorbeeld door heffingen gepaard te laten gaan met positieve prikkels voor vermindering van de vervuiling. De recent gepresenteerde voorstellen van de werkgroep 'Vergroening van het fiscale stelsel' bevatten hiervoor een goede aanzet. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11858/ 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z Na hervormingen in de bijstand, WAO, ZW en de nabestaandenwet overweegt de regering nu ook de WW in een nieuw jasje steken. Meer prikkels voor werkgevers zouden het gebruik van deze regeling moeten ontmoedigen. In het onderstaande artikel betogen Bovenberg en De Mooij dat dit geen oplossing biedt voor de lage instroom van werklozen in het arbeidsproces. Bovendien kan minder verzekering een ongunstig effect hebben op de werking van de arbeidsmarkt. Teulings komt in zijn reactie op dit artikel tot een andere conclusie. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11847/ 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z Het MIMIC-model van het Centraal Planbureau wordt gebruikt om de lange-termijngevolgen van beleid te analyseren. Een onlangs verschenen bundel van Gelauff en Graafland gaat dieper in op de werking van MIMIC en op de effecten die MIMIC voorspelt van diverse sociaaleconomische beleidsmaatregelen. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11844/ 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z Een verschuiving in de belastingdruk van de lagere arbeidsinkomens naar het middenkader heeft volgens het model MIMIC van het CPBpositieve effecten op de werkgelegenheid. Dit hangt vooral samenn met het loonmatigende effect van hogere marginale tarieven in het model. Echter, MIMIC houdt geen rekening met een aantal ontmoedigende effecten van hogere marginale tarieven. Het totale effect van een 'Robin Hood'-beleid is niet op voorhand duidelijk. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11889/ 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z Verlaging van het belastingtarief in de eerste schijf, gefinancierd met verhoging van het tarief in de andere schijven, is in het MIMIC-model van het Centraal Planbureau goed voor de werkgelegenheid. Onlangs werd .in E5B betwijfeld of het CPB de gevolgen van zo'n 'Robin Hood'- beleid goed weergeeft. Het is echter de vraag of de niet-kwantificeerbare effecten wel van zo 'n groot belang zijn. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1948/ 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z It is sometimes argued that by using the revenues from environmental taxes to reduce distortionary taxes on labor, governments can reap a ‘double dividend’, namely, not only an improvement in environmental quality, but also a reduction in the efficiency costs associated with raising public revenue. By employing a general equilibrium model, this paper finds that, contrary to common wisdom, environmental taxes typically render the overall tax system a less efficient instrument to finance public spending. Furthermore, high estimates for the marginal efficiency costs of existing taxes weaken, rather than strengthen, the case for environmental taxes. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11841/ 1993-01-01T00:00:00Z De werkgelegenheid in Nederland lijkt relatief kwetsbaar voor een energieheffing ten opzicbte van andere Europese landen. Eventuele invoering van een energieheffing omwille van bet milieu vereist dan ook flankerend beleid voor de werkgelegenheid. Dit kan door de opbrengst van de heffing volledig te benutten voor bet verlagen van de belastingdruk op arbeid. Een schevere inkomensverdeling tussen actieven en inactieven moet dan voor lief warden genomen.