Well-Being, Poverty, and Labor Income Taxation: Theory and Application to Europe and the United States

Francois Maniquet and Dirk Neumann

American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 2021, vol. 13, issue 2, 276-310

Abstract: In a model where agents differ in wages and preferences over labor time–consumption bundles, we study labor income tax schemes that alleviate poverty. To avoid conflict with individual well-being, we require redistribution to take place between agents on both sides of the poverty line provided they have the same labor time. This requirement is combined with efficiency and robustness properties. Maximizing the resulting social preferences under incentive compatibility constraints yields the following evaluation criterion: tax schemes should minimize the labor time required to reach the poverty line. We apply this criterion to European countries and the United States.

JEL-codes: H23 H24 I31 I32 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1257/mic.20180269

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