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A dynamic model of shirking and unemployment: Private saving, public debt, and optimal taxation

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  • Brecher, Richard A.
  • Chen, Zhiqi
  • Choudhri, Ehsan U.

Abstract

This paper introduces private saving and public debt into the shirking-unemployment model of Shapiro and Stiglitz (1984), while relaxing their exclusive focus on steady states. After generalizing their no-shirking constraint to accommodate asset accumulation, and demonstrating that the resulting economy's equilibrium is saddle-path stable, we use our dynamic model to obtain significant departures from the Shapiro-Stiglitz prescriptions for optimal policy. Most notably, wage income should be taxed (not subsidized) in the long run if the labor market is sufficiently distorted. Furthermore, interest income should be (exhaustively) taxed only during an initial interval of time, as in Chamley's (1986) full-employment model.

Suggested Citation

  • Brecher, Richard A. & Chen, Zhiqi & Choudhri, Ehsan U., 2010. "A dynamic model of shirking and unemployment: Private saving, public debt, and optimal taxation," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 1392-1402, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:dyncon:v:34:y:2010:i:8:p:1392-1402
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    Cited by:

    1. Lei Wen & Haiwen Zhou, 2023. "The choice of technology in economic development," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(4), pages 747-763, December.
    2. Zhiqi Chen & Bo Zhao, 2014. "Unemployment and product market competition in a Cournot model with efficiency wages," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 47(2), pages 555-579, May.
    3. Till Gross, 2013. "Capital Taxation, Intermediate Goods, and Production Efficiency," Carleton Economic Papers 13-09, Carleton University, Department of Economics.
    4. Wu Joseph S. K. & Ho Chi Pui, 2017. "The Shapiro-Stiglitz Model with Non-constant Marginal Utility," Open Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 1(1), pages 36-48, August.
    5. Haiwen Zhou & Ruhai Zhou, 2023. "Shirking and capital accumulation under oligopolistic competition," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 51(2), pages 394-407, September.
    6. Hian Teck Hoon & Margarita Katsimi & Gylfi Zoega, 2018. "Investment, Current Account, and the Long Swings of Unemployment," Birkbeck Working Papers in Economics and Finance 1810, Birkbeck, Department of Economics, Mathematics & Statistics.
    7. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2017. "A Real-Business-Cycle model with efficiency wages and a government sector: the case of Bulgaria," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue 4, pages 359-377.
    8. Robert Jump, 2014. "A Fair Wage Explanation of Labour Market Volatility," Studies in Economics 1413, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    9. Till Gross, 2013. "Capital Tax Competition and Dynamic Optimal Taxation," Carleton Economic Papers 13-08, Carleton University, Department of Economics.

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