In the period 2001-2004 two major reforms followed in Belgium: a personal income tax reform (2001) and a reform of social security contributions for low skilled employees (2004). Using a discrete hours labor supply model, this paper assesses the impact of these reforms on aggregate labor supply...

In the period 2001-2004 two major reforms followed in Belgium: a personal income tax reform which included a new tax credit on low earnings (2001) and a reform of social security contributions for low wage employees (2004). Using a discrete hours labor supply model, this paper assesses the...

The Belgian “Generations Pact” contained a measure which aims at removing an inactivity trap for people who benefit from a survivor pension. In this paper we use a sample of administrative data from the “Datawarehouse labour market and social protection” and the microsimulation model...

During the last decade, several EU countries have tried to tackle unemployment and low activity rates through extensive tax cuts. In an effort to encourage the taking up of work – especially amongst the less productive workers – policymakers have shown increasing interest in targeted tax and...

The aim of this paper is to introduce labour supply behaviour in an arithmetic microsimulation model so as to take into account changes in labour supply when a new policy is evaluated. I explore the performance of a labour supply estimation method based on a discrete choice set. The idea behind...

Using information on desired and actual hours of work, we formulate a discrete choice model of constrained labor supply, where involuntary unemployment as well as over- and underemployment are modelled in a theoretically consistent way. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and...

Using information on desired and actual hours of work, we formulate a discrete choice model of constrained labor supply, where involuntary unemployment as well as over- and underemployment are modelled in a theoretically consistent way. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and...

Income support for working low income families (the ?working poor?) is on top of the political agenda in Switzerland. The current social assistance system is considered inadequate to support working poor households. Labour unions propose the introduction of a general minimum wage, whereas the...

We assess the labour supply effects of two 'making work pay' reforms in Germany. We provide evidence in favour of policies that distinguish between low effort and low productivity by targeting individuals with low wages rather than individuals with low earnings. In assessing the policies we...

Estimates of labour supply effects of recent UK reforms in the area of direct taxes and benefits show that policy can have significant influence on the level of employment. We confirm this in a simulation of in-work support system introduced into the German tax and benefit system. Our simulation...