Positional preferences in time and space: Optimal income taxation with dynamic social comparisons

• This paper concerns optimal redistributive non-linear income taxation in an OLG model, where people care about their own consumption relative to (i) other people's current consumption, (ii) own past consumption, and (iii) other people's past consumption. We show that both (i) and (iii) affect the marginal income tax structure whereas (ii) does not. We also derive conditions under which atemporal and intertemporal consumption comparisons give rise to exactly the same tax policy responses. On the basis of the available empirical estimates, comparisons with other people's current and past consumption tend to substantially increase the optimal marginal labor income tax rates. Yet, such comparisons may either increase or decrease the optimal marginal capital income tax rates. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. EL AB, 1990, AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW102 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMIC

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Nationalekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Economics (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Optimal income taxation

Asymmetric information

Relative consumption

Status

Habit formation

PUBLIC GOOD PROVISION

HABIT FORMATION

RELATIVE-INCOME

CONSPICUOUS

CONSUMPTION

ASSET PRICES

OLG MODEL

HAPPINESS

Optimal income taxation

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)