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Child Care Subsidies, Quality, and Optimal Income Taxation

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  • Spencer Bastani
  • Sören Blomquist
  • Luca Micheletto

Abstract

We study child care subsidies in a Mirrleesian optimal tax framework where parents choose both the quantity and quality of child care. Child care services not only enable parents to work, but also contribute to children's human capital. We examine the conditions under which child care expenditures should be encouraged or discouraged by the tax system under different assumptions regarding the available policy instruments. Using a quantitative model calibrated to the US economy, we illustrate the possibility that child care expenditures should be taxed rather than subsidized, and we discuss the merits of public provision schemes for child care.

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  • Spencer Bastani & Sören Blomquist & Luca Micheletto, 2020. "Child Care Subsidies, Quality, and Optimal Income Taxation," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 1-37, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejpol:v:12:y:2020:i:4:p:1-37
    DOI: 10.1257/pol.20170648
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    Cited by:

    1. Spencer Bastani & Sebastian Koehne, 2022. "How Should Consumption Be Taxed?," CESifo Working Paper Series 10038, CESifo.
    2. Francesca Barigozzi & Helmuth Cremer & Emmanuel Thibault, 2024. "The motherhood wage and income traps," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(4), pages 1-26, December.
    3. Robert Scherf & Matthew Weinzierl, 2020. "Understanding Different Approaches to Benefit‐Based Taxation," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(2), pages 385-410, June.
    4. Takuya Obara & Yoshitomo Ogawa, 2020. "Optimal Taxation in an Endogenous Fertility Model with Non-Cooperative Couples," Discussion Paper Series 211, School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University, revised Jan 2021.
    5. Spencer Bastani & Sören Blomquist & Luca Micheletto, 2019. "Nonlinear and piecewise linear income taxation, and the subsidization of work-related goods," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 26(4), pages 806-834, August.
    6. Spencer Bastani & Sören Blomquist & Luca Micheletto, 2020. "Pareto efficient income taxation without single-crossing," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 55(3), pages 547-594, October.
    7. Volker Meier & Matthew D. Rablen, 2024. "Political economy of redistribution between traditional and modern families," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 31(4), pages 980-1008, August.
    8. Ho Christine, 2019. "Optimal Disability Insurance with Informal Child Care," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 19(2), pages 1-42, April.
    9. Aronsson, Thomas & Bastani, Spencer & Tayibov, Khayyam, 2021. "Social Exclusion and Optimal Redistribution," Umeå Economic Studies 1004, Umeå University, Department of Economics.
    10. Spencer Bastani & Thomas Giebe & Oliver Gürtler, 2023. "Overconfidence and Gender Equality in the Labor Market," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 220, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    11. Koehne, Sebastian & Sachs, Dominik, 2022. "Pareto-improving reforms of tax deductions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    12. David Koll & Dominik Sachs & Fabian Stuermer-Heiber & Helene Turon, 2019. "The fiscal return to childcare policies," 2019 Meeting Papers 1081, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    13. Sebastian Koehne & Dominik Sachs, 2019. "Pareto-efficient Tax Deductions," CESifo Working Paper Series 7744, CESifo.
    14. Gerhard Glomm & Volker Meier, 2020. "Efficient child care subsidies: any need for cash for care?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 773-793, September.
    15. David Koll & Dominik Sachs & Fabian Stürmer-Heiber & Hélène Turon, 2024. "Quantifying Okun’s Leaky Bucket: The Case of Progressive Childcare Subsidies," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2024_570, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    16. Alessandra Casarico & Elena Del Rey & Jose I. Silva, 2023. "Child care costs, household liquidity constraints, and gender inequality," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1461-1487, July.
    17. Bastani, Spencer & Giebe, Thomas & Guertler, Oliver, 2024. "Overconfidence and gender gaps in career outcomes: insights from a promotion signaling model," Working Paper Series 2024:21, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    18. Takuya Obara & Yoshitomo Ogawa, 2024. "Optimal taxation in an endogenous fertility model with non-cooperative behavior," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 173-197, March.
    19. Tayibov, Khayyam, 2024. "Tagging Birthplace for Optimal Tax Policy, Redistribution, and Welfare," Working Papers in Economics and Statistics 9/2024, Linnaeus University, School of Business and Economics, Department of Economics and Statistics.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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