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DIW Discussion Papers 532 / 2005
We analyze the distribution and taxation of top incomes in Germany during the 1990s on the basis of individual tax returns data. We derive a measure of economic income from taxable gross income as reported in the tax returns. Thanks to complete sampling, we can deliver a very precise description of very high incomes, in terms of both distribution and composition by source. We also provide a measure ...
2005| Stefan Bach, Giacomo Corneo, Viktor Steiner
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DIW Discussion Papers 528 / 2005
In this paper, we consider fiscal competition between jurisdictions. Capital taxes are used to finance a public input and two public goods, one which benefits mobile skilled workers and one which benefits immobile unskilled workers. We derive the jurisdictions' reaction functions for different spending categories. We then estimate these reaction functions using data from German communities. Thereby ...
2005| Rainald Borck, Marco Caliendo, Viktor Steiner
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DIW Discussion Papers 515 / 2005
Aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik (AAMP) umfasst eine Vielzahl staatlicher Maßnahmen zur Verhinderung von Arbeitslosigkeit und Förderung von Beschäftigung. Die quantitativ wichtigsten Programme der AAMP in Deutschland waren traditionell die Förderung der beruflichen Weiterbildung sowie Arbeitsbeschaffungs- und Strukturanpassungsmaßnahmen. In letzter Zeit haben aber auch neuere Instrumente der AAMP wie z.B. ...
2005| Marco Caliendo, Viktor Steiner
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DIW Discussion Papers 505 / 2005
This paper examines social agglomeration externalities. Using survey data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, I examine the link between city size and different measures of consumption, social interaction and social capital. Further, using responses to satisfaction questions, I analyse whether individuals are compensated for diseconomies of agglomeration by positive agglomeration externalities in ...
2005| Rainald Borck
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DIW Discussion Papers 504 / 2005
Following Keen and Marchand (1997), the paper analyses the effect of fiscal competition on the composition of public spending in a model where capital and skilled workers are mobile while low skilled workers are immobile. Taxes are levied on capital and labour. Each group of workers benefits from a different kind of public good. Mobility of skilled workers provides an incentive for jurisdictions to ...
2005| Rainald Borck
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DIW Discussion Papers 503 / 2005
This paper surveys models of voting on redistribution. Under reasonable assumptions, the baseline model produces an equilibrium with the extent of redistributive taxation chosen by the median income earner; if the median is poorer than average, redistribution is from rich to poor. Increasing inequality increases redistribution. However, under different assumptions about the economic environment, redistribution ...
2005| Rainald Borck
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DIW Discussion Papers 485 / 2005
Propensity Score Matching (PSM) has become a popular approach to estimate causal treatment effects. It is widely applied when evaluating labour market policies, but empirical examples can be found in very diverse fields of study. Once the researcher has decided to use PSM, he is confronted with a lot of questions regarding its implementation. To begin with, a first decision has to be made concerning ...
2005| Marco Caliendo, Sabine Kopeinig
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DIW Discussion Papers 472 / 2005
In the year 2000, the German government passed the most ambitious tax reform in postwar German history aiming at a significant tax relief for households. An important aim of this tax reform was to improve work incentives and, thereby, foster employment. Drawing on data of the German Socio Economic Panel (SOEP), we analyze the work incentive and employment effects of this reform on the basis of a behavioral ...
2005| Peter Haan, Viktor Steiner
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DIW Discussion Papers 470 / 2005
The extension of subsidized child care is currently on the top of the political agenda in Germany. In this paper the excess demand for subsidized child care slots is estimated using a partial observability model in the style of Abowd and Farber (1982). The results show that more than 50 percent of children aged 0-3 are queuing for child care slots, whereas only 10 percent of children aged 4-6 years ...
2005| Katharina Wrohlich
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DIW Discussion Papers 445 / 2004
We study the political economy of commuting subsidies in a model of a mono-centric city with two income classes. Depending on housing demand and transport costs, either the rich or the poor live in the central city and the other group in the suburbs. Commuting subsidies increase the net income of those with long commutes or high transport costs. They also affect land rents and therefore the income ...
2004| Rainald Borck, Matthias Wrede