Taming Private Leviathans: Regulation versus Taxation

Rabah Arezki, Asif Islam and Gregoire Rota-Graziosi

No 9531, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: This paper explores the interplay between concentration of wealth and policies, namely regulation and taxation. The paper exploits variation in exposure to international commodity prices. Using a global panel data set of the net worth of billionaires, the results point to a positive relationship between commodity prices and the concentration of wealth at the top. Regulation especially pertaining to competition is found to limit the effects of commodity price shocks on the concentration of wealth, while taxation has little effect. Moreover, commodity price shocks crowd out non-resource tax revenue, hence limiting the scope for income transfers and redistribution. The results are consistent with the primacy of ex ante interventions over ex post ones for addressing wealth inequality.

Keywords: Energy and Natural Resources; Coastal and Marine Resources; Food Security; Oil Refining&Gas Industry; Public Sector Economics; Public Finance Decentralization and Poverty Reduction; Macro-Fiscal Policy; Taxation&Subsidies; Economic Adjustment and Lending (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-01-29
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-pbe and nep-reg
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Working Paper: Taming Private Leviathans: Regulation versus Taxation (2021)
Working Paper: Taming Private Leviathans: Regulation versus Taxation (2021)
Working Paper: Taming Private Leviathans: Regulation versus Taxation (2021)
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