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DO SOCIAL POLICIES HARM EMPLOYMENT? Second-best effects of taxes and benefits on labor markets

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Frederick VAN DER PLOEG

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Abstract

In the presence of Walrasian labor markets social policies harm hours worked, employment and output. In non-Walrasian labor markets with trade unions, efficiency wages and/or costly search and mismatch progressive taxation and corporatism induce wage moderation and boost employment and output. Although unconditional unemployment benefits destroy jobs, conditional benefits spur job growth. In a second-best world the usual effects of social policies are thus overturned. In addition, the incidence of taxation and the effects of tax progression depend crucially on the specific features of the welfare state, e.g., whether benefits are indexed to after-tax wages or not and unemployed people share fully in the tax burden or not. In a full political-economic equilibrium a more equitable distribution of income and assets leads to a more affluent median voter who votes for less 'populist' policies. Hence, employment and economic growth are higher and inflation lower.

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Paper provided by European University Institute in its series Economics Working Papers with number ECO2004/11.

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Date of creation: 2004
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Handle: RePEc:eui:euiwps:eco2004/11

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Related research
Keywords: social policies; redistribution; conditional unemployment benefits; non-Walrasian labor markets; second best; employment; growth; politics;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook
H0 - Public Economics - - General
J0 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General
O4 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity

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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Alexis, PARMENTIER, 2006. "The effects of the marginal tax rate in a matching model with endogenous labor supply," Discussion Papers (ECON - Département des Sciences Economiques) 2006011, Université catholique de Louvain, Département des Sciences Economiques. [Downloadable!]
  2. van der Ploeg, Frederick, 2005. "Rolling Back the Public Sector - Differential Effects on Unemployment, Investment and Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 4896, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
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