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Can equity and efficiency complement each other?

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  • Blank, Rebecca M.

Abstract

Economists tend to assume that redistributive transfers increase equity but cause a loss in efficiency, the so-called 'leaky bucket' effect. This paper explores situations where efficiency losses are small or where equity and efficiency might even complement each other. A simple model identifies key parameters that cause leaky buckets and which policy can affect. Three situations are discussed where the equity/efficiency tradeoff may be low: When transfers go to populations with no capacity to change their behavior; when transfers go to programs that limit efficiency losses through behavioral requirements; and when commodities are subsidized that function as long-term investments and create future income gains.
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  • Blank, Rebecca M., 2002. "Can equity and efficiency complement each other?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 451-468, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:9:y:2002:i:4:p:451-468
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    2. Jordan D. Matsudaira & Rebecca M. Blank, 2014. "The Impact of Earnings Disregards on the Behavior of Low‐Income Families," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 7-35, January.
    3. Sabrina Auci & Laura Castellucci & Manuela Coromaldi, 2021. "How does public spending affect technical efficiency? Some evidence from 15 European countries," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(1), pages 108-130, January.
    4. Pfeifer, Christian, 2004. "Fairness und Kündigungen : eine theoretische und empirische Analyse (Fairness and layoffs * a theoretical and empirical analysis)," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 37(2), pages 127-145.
    5. Nordén, Anna, 2014. "Payment Types and Participation in Payment for Ecosystem Services Programs: Stated Preferences of Landowners," Working Papers in Economics 591, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    6. Martin Stadelmann & Åsa Persson & Izabela Ratajczak-Juszko & Axel Michaelowa, 2014. "Equity and cost-effectiveness of multilateral adaptation finance: are they friends or foes?," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 101-120, May.
    7. Armando Barrientos & Daniele Malerba, 2020. "Social assistance and inclusive growth," International Social Security Review, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 73(3), pages 33-53, July.
    8. Gerdes, Christer, 2015. "Does Performance Information Affect Job Seekers in Selecting Private Providers in Voucher-Based ALMP Programs?," IZA Discussion Papers 8992, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Ryta I. Dziemianowicz & Adam Wyszkowski & Renata Budlewska, 2014. "Tax expenditures jako ukryta forma wydatków publicznych," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 3, pages 35-62.
    10. Rebecca Blank, 2003. "Selecting Among Anti-Poverty Policies: Can an Economist be Both Critical and Caring?," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 61(4), pages 447-469.
    11. Sahrbacher, Amanda, 2012. "Impacts of CAP reforms on farm structures and performance disparities: An agent-based approach," Studies on the Agricultural and Food Sector in Transition Economies, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), volume 65, number 65.
    12. Alfonso Arpaia & Gilles Mourre, 2012. "Institutions And Performance In European Labour Markets: Taking A Fresh Look At Evidence," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 1-41, February.
    13. Skoufias, Emmanuel & Gonzalez-Cossio, Teresa, 2008. "The Impacts of Cash and In-Kind Transfers on Consumption and Labor Supply: Experimental Evidence from Rural Mexico," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4778, The World Bank.
    14. Figari, Francesco, 2011. "From housewives to independent earners: can the tax system help Italian women to work?," ISER Working Paper Series 2011-15, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    15. Nikolai Hoberg & Stefan Baumgärtner, 2014. "Value pluralism, trade-offs and efficiencies," Working Paper Series in Economics 311, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    16. Berthold, Norbert & von Berchem, Sascha, 2003. "Die Sozialhilfe zwischen Effizienz und Gerechtigkeit: wie kann der Spagat gelingen?," Discussion Paper Series 62, Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg, Chair of Economic Order and Social Policy.
    17. Minghui Zhang & Weiqi Xia, 2022. "Research on the Law of China’s Rural Land Institutional Changes: An Analytical Framework of Economic Efficiency and Distributive Equity," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-15, December.
    18. Johannes Idsø & Torbjørn Årethun & Bharat P. Bhatta, 2018. "The Income Equalization System among Municipalities in Norway: Strengths and Implications," Economies, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-10, May.
    19. Didier Josselin & Marc Ciligot-Travain, 2013. "Revisiting the Optimal Center Location. A Spatial Thinking Based on Robustness, Sensitivity, and Influence Analysis," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 40(5), pages 923-941, October.
    20. Margaret Grosh & Carlo del Ninno & Emil Tesliuc & Azedine Ouerghi, 2008. "For Protection and Promotion : The Design and Implementation of Effective Safety Nets," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6582.
    21. Pfeifer, Christian, 2004. "Fairness und Kündigungen : eine theoretische und empirische Analyse (Fairness and layoffs * a theoretical and empirical analysis)," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 37(2), pages 127-145.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D3 - Microeconomics - - Distribution
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty

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