Capital Taxation During the U.S. Great Depression

Ellen R. McGrattan

No 16588, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Previous studies of the U.S. Great Depression find that increased taxation contributed little to either the dramatic downturn or the slow recovery. These studies include only one type of capital taxation: a business profits tax. The contribution is much greater when the analysis includes other types of capital taxes. A general equilibrium model extended to include taxes on dividends, property, capital stock, and excess and undistributed profits predicts patterns of output, investment, and hours worked more like those in the 1930s than found in earlier studies. The greatest effects come from the increased tax on corporate dividends.

JEL-codes: E13 E32 H25 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-acc, nep-dge, nep-his, nep-mac, nep-pbe and nep-pub
Date: 2010-12
Note: EFG
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Related works:
Journal Article: Capital Taxation During the U.S. Great Depression (2012)
Working Paper: Capital taxation during the U.S. Great Depression (2010)
Working Paper: Capital taxation during the U.S. Great Depression (2010)
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