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Fiscal federalism and income inequality: An empirical analysis for Switzerland

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  • Feld, Lars P.
  • Frey, Christian
  • Schaltegger, Christoph A.
  • Schmid, Lukas A.

Abstract

Traditional theory implies that fiscal federalism hinders redistribution and increases inequality. Decentralization might however improve predistribution. To obtain more precise empirical evidence on this relationship we introduce an interaction between tax decentralization and jurisdictional fragmentation and analyze its impact on pre- vs. after-tax inequality. The empirical strategy relies on the unique institutional setting and data consistency in Switzerland which allows to exploit cantonal variance since 1945. According to our findings, tax decentralization reduces income inequality as long as jurisdictional fragmentation remains limited. Significant effects in pre-tax income suggest an impact via the predistribution instead of the redistribution channel.

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  • Feld, Lars P. & Frey, Christian & Schaltegger, Christoph A. & Schmid, Lukas A., 2021. "Fiscal federalism and income inequality: An empirical analysis for Switzerland," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 463-494.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:185:y:2021:i:c:p:463-494
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.02.028
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    Cited by:

    1. Philipp Erfurth, 2022. "Is Income Inequality Converging at the Regional Level? Evidence from LIS Data," LIS Working papers 841, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    2. Joséphine Leuba, 2019. "Natural amenities and the spatial distribution of Swiss income," IRENE Working Papers 19-04, IRENE Institute of Economic Research.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Federalism; Decentralization; Inequality; Income concentration; Top incomes; Redistribution; Switzerland;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism

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