Welfare states redistribute both between individuals reducing annual inequality and over the life-cycle insuring against income risks. But studies measuring redistribution often focus only on a one-year period. Using German SOEP data from 1984 to 2009, long-term inequality over a 20-year period is computed and then decomposed into an inter- and intra-individual component. Results show that annual inequality ...
In this paper we use a dynamic structural life-cycle model to analyze the employment, fiscal and welfare effects induced by unemployment insurance. The model features a detailed specification of the tax and transfer system, including unemployment insurance benefits which depend on an individual's employment and earnings history. The model also captures the endogenous accumulation of experience which ...
Severance pay often results from a bargain between the firm and the employee to avoid or terminate a legal conflict. We theoretically investigate how income taxation affects these negotiations. Using panel data from West Germany and exploiting a change in tax law in 1999, we find that a higher income tax on severance pay reduces the probability of obtaining it and - in some specifications - also lowers ...
Mit beeindruckenden finanzpolitischen Konsolidierungsbemühungen hat es Italien - trotz extrem hoher Defizite zu Beginn der 90er Jahre - geschafft, die Maastricht-Kriterien zu erfüllen und von Beginn an Mitglied des Euroraums zu sein. Skeptiker weisen indes auf weiterhin bestehende finanzpolitische Probleme hin und heben hervor, dass Italien die Vorgaben des Konsolidierungsprogramms seit einiger Zeit ...