Do tax reforms affect income distribution? Evidence from developing countries

Sanjeev Gupta and Joao Jalles

Economic Modelling, 2022, vol. 110, issue C

Abstract: We empirically assess the impact of tax reforms on income distribution in developing countries. We apply the local projection method to a new “narrative” database of tax reforms covering 45 emerging and low-income countries. Reforms of the personal income or strengthening of the revenue administration lower the disposable Gini and increase the bottom income share. This result does not hold for sub-Saharan Africa. To reduce inequality at a faster pace, it would be more effective to implement tax reforms when the economy is growing relatively slowly. Finally, the smaller the government spending envelope and the smaller the tax system, the larger the beneficial impact of tax reforms on inequality.

Keywords: Income distribution; Gini; Fiscal policy; Impulse response functions; Endogeneity; Nonlinearities; Government size (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C33 C36 D63 E32 E62 H20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:110:y:2022:i:c:s0264999322000505

DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2022.105804

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