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Labor Market Effects of Tax Changes in Times of High and Low Unemployment: Working Paper 2020-05

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  • U. Devrim Demirel

Abstract

This paper examines how the effects of legislated tax changes on labor market outcomes vary with the amount of slack in the economy, as measured by the rate of unemployment. I find that effects on hours worked, employment, and the unemployment rate become smaller in times of higher unemployment. I then develop a theoretical model in which changes in taxes on labor income directly affect the demand for labor by changing the costs that firms incur for employing workers. In the model, tax changes have smaller effects in times of higher unemployment because overall employee

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  • U. Devrim Demirel, 2020. "Labor Market Effects of Tax Changes in Times of High and Low Unemployment: Working Paper 2020-05," Working Papers 56522, Congressional Budget Office.
    • Handle: RePEc:cbo:wpaper:56522
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E20 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • E60 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - General
    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General

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