We use spline interpolation to approximate the subjective cumulative distribution function ofan economic agent over the future realization of a continuous (possibly censored) randomvariable. The method proposed exploits information collected using a small number ofprobability questions on...

This paper examines the impact of the Pay Review Bodies (PRBs) on the public sector pay of their remit groups. We compare the real weekly earnings of groups of workers in occupations covered by PRBs, in the remainder of the public sector and in the private sector using LFS data from 1993 to 2006...

Between the years 1996 and 2003, a series of amendments were made to the Tax ReformAct of 1986 (TRA86) that gradually increased the tax credit for health insurance purchases bythe self-employed from 25 to 100 percent. We study how these changes in the tax code haveinfluenced the likelihood that...

Within an efficiency wage framework, we study the effects of two revenue-neutral tax reformsthat change the progressivity of the labour tax system. A revenue-neutral increase in both thewage tax and tax exemption and a revenue-neutral change in the composition of labourtaxation towards the tax...

Germany and France are both Continental European welfare states with severe labor marketproblems such as low employment and high and persistent unemployment which can beexplained by labor market institutions that inhibit labor market adaptability...

The analysis presented in this paper defines three different synthetic measurements ofdisincentives for formal work: two standard measurements, namely the tax wedge and themarginal effective tax rate (METR); and a new, innovative measurement called formalizationtax rate (FTR). The novelty of the...

We study the impact of tax and minimum wage reforms on the incidence of informality. Togauge the incidence of informality, we use measures of the extent of tax evasion, the extentof minimum wage non-compliance, and the size of the informal workforce. Our approachallows us to examine (i) the...

An industry is modeled in which entrepreneurs, who are heterogeneous in ability, may produce formally or informally. It is shown how the formal-informal mix depends on the distribution of ability, product demand and various parameter values...

Is the vast army of the self-employed in low income countries a source of employment generation? We use data from surveys in Sri Lanka to compare the characteristics of own account workers (non-employers) with wage workers and with owners of larger firms[...]

By using official time series of the Italian evaded VAT base (Ministry of Finance) for the period 1980-2004 we investigate empirically the long-run characteristics of tax evasion and the relationship with the tax burden. We focus on three important issues not analyzed so far[...]