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Alternative Tax-Benefit Strategies to Support Children in the European Union. Recent Reforms in Austria, Spain and the UK

Author

Listed:
  • Levy, Horacio

    (University of Essex)

  • Lietz, Christine

    (Department of Economics and Finance, Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna, Austria)

  • Sutherland, Holly

    (University of Essex and DIW Berlin)

Abstract

We compare three EU countries that have recently experienced substantial but very different reforms of their family support systems: Austria, Spain and the UK. The structure of these systems is different: Austria emphases universal benefits, Spain tax concessions and the UK means-tested benefits. First the paper compares the distributional implications of these three approaches. The recent reforms have reinforced existing structures while increasing the amount of spending for children. The second step is to ask: What would have happened if these countries had transformed the architecture of their systems in either of the other two directions? We use EUROMOD, the European tax-benefit microsimulation model that is designed for making cross-country comparisons and answering “what if” questions such as these. We find that the three factors that can be distinguished – the level of spending, its structure, and the way it impacts in a national context – are all important to varying degrees.

Suggested Citation

  • Levy, Horacio & Lietz, Christine & Sutherland, Holly, 2006. "Alternative Tax-Benefit Strategies to Support Children in the European Union. Recent Reforms in Austria, Spain and the UK," Economics Series 185, Institute for Advanced Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:ihs:ihsesp:185
    as

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    File URL: https://irihs.ihs.ac.at/id/eprint/1689
    File Function: First version, 2006
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    2. Timothy Smeeding & Gunther Schmaus & Brigitte Buhmann & Lee Rainwater, 1988. "Equivalence Scales, Well-Being, Inequality and Poverty: Sensitivity Estimates Across Ten Countries Using the LIS Database," LIS Working papers 17, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    3. Wen-Hao Chen & Miles Corak, 2008. "Child poverty and changes in child poverty," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 45(3), pages 537-553, August.
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    6. Sutherland, Holly, 2001. "EUROMOD: an integrated European benefit-tax model: final report," EUROMOD Working Papers EM9/01, EUROMOD at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    7. O'Donoghue, Cathal & Sutherland, Holly & Immervoll, Herwig, 1999. "An introduction to EUROMOD," EUROMOD Working Papers EM0/99, EUROMOD at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.
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    10. Brigitte Buhmann & Lee Rainwater & Guenther Schmaus & Timothy M. Smeeding, 1988. "Equivalence Scales, Well‐Being, Inequality, And Poverty: Sensitivity Estimates Across Ten Countries Using The Luxembourg Income Study (Lis) Database," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 34(2), pages 115-142, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Eva Festl & Hedwig Lutz & Margit Schratzenstaller-Altzinger, 2010. "Mögliche Ansätze zur Unterstützung von Familien," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 38701.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Children; European Union; Policy Reform; Microsimulation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C8 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty

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