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Taxes, Growth and Unemployment in the OECD Countries - Does Collective Bargaininig Matter?

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  • Kiander, Jaakko
  • Kilponen, Juha
  • Vilmunen, Jouko

Abstract

This paper analyses how collective bargaining affects the level and structure of labour and capital taxes in OECD countries by using cross-country-time-series data. Corporatist countries are found to have higher effective labor taxes on average during the 1970-1996 period. Effective capital taxes, in turn, are higher in the countries where union membership is higher. Estimation results suggest that reduction in the effective labor taxes decreases unemployment only in the unionized countries with decentralized wage bargaining. The capital taxes have only a small distorting effect on per-capita GDP growth, but there is no conclusive evidence on neither direct or indirect effect of the labor taxes on growth. Small or non-existent distortionary effects of capital and labour taxes on growth can be due to the potential efficiency gains arising from redistributive taxation. Potential efficiency gains of redistribution are supported by the finding that inequality seem to have a negative effect on per-capita GDP growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Kiander, Jaakko & Kilponen, Juha & Vilmunen, Jouko, 2000. "Taxes, Growth and Unemployment in the OECD Countries - Does Collective Bargaininig Matter?," Discussion Papers 235, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:fer:dpaper:235
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    Cited by:

    1. Sinko, Pekka & Kilponen, Juha, 2003. "Does Centralised Wage Setting Lead into Higher Taxation?," Discussion Papers 314, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    2. Pekka Sinko, 2005. "Does Centralised Wage Setting Lead into Higher Taxation?," Labor and Demography 0509007, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Sinko, Pekka & Kilponen, Juha, 2001. "Labour Taxation and the Degree of Centralisation in a Trade Union Model with Endogenous Labour Supply," Discussion Papers 250, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    4. Jaakko Kiander, 2005. "Growth and Employment in the ‘Nordic Welfare States’ in the 1990s: a Tale of Crisis and Revival," Social Policy in a Development Context, in: Olli Kangas & Joakim Palme (ed.), Social Policy and Economic Development in the Nordic Countries, chapter 9, pages 210-240, Palgrave Macmillan.
    5. Alfonso Arpaia & Giuseppe Carone, 2004. "Do labour taxes (and their composition) affect wages in the short and in the long run?," Public Economics 0411004, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Juha Kilponen & Pekka Sinko, 2005. "Taxation And Centralised Wage Setting: The Case Of Endogenous Labour Supply," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 52(4), pages 587-606, September.
    7. Sinko, Pekka, 2002. "Labour Taxation, Tax Progression and Job Matching - Comparative Alternative Models of Wage Setting," Discussion Papers 285, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    8. Alfonso Arpaia & Giuseppe Carone, 2004. "Do labour taxes (and their composition) affect wages in the short and the long run? - Alfonso Arpaia and Giuseppe Carone," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 216, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.

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