This paper examines the endogeneity of several structural variables which enter unemployment rate equations—the generosity of unemployment benefits, nonwage labor costs, the relative minimum wage, and the degree of unionization. It finds evidence of reverse causality for these structural...

One difficulty confronting Harberger’s celebrated model of the corporate income tax is how to treat the noncorporate production in primarily corporate sectors and corporate production in primarily noncorporate sectors. This paper presents a two-good model with corporate and noncorporate...

This paper examines the behavior of business fixed investment in the United States in the 1980s. A background discussion of the long-term behavior of the components of business fixed investment is provided, setting the context for the empirical analysis. A standard neoclassical model of business...

This background paper describes five different tools that can be used for the assessment of tax incentives by governments in low income countries' (LICs). The first tool (an application of cost-benefit analysis) provides an overarching framework for assessment. Evaluations of the various costs...

KEY ISSUES<br>Politics: President Bachelet won the Presidential election on a platform to foster<br>inclusive growth and reduce inequality. Her government took office in March 2014 and is launching <br>an ambitious policy agenda that includes important reforms in several areas, including taxation,...

This 2008 Article IV Consultation highlights that the Chilean economy has proved resilient in the face of strong economic and financial headwinds during the past year. Rising world prices for energy and food have been exacerbated by drought and a tight domestic energy situation. The government...