The distributional effects of the minimum wage are analyzed in a model where skilled and unskilled labor are inputs into the production function. It is argued that distributional goals are best achieved by letting the labor market clear itself and achieving redistribution through taxes and...

Since the late 1980s, there has been an abrupt turnaround in Sweden's public finances. The present paper makes the case for the very early adoption of a policy of medium-term fiscal consolidation in Sweden, notwithstanding the presently relatively depressed state of the Swedish economy. It does...

This paper examines factors determining the allocation of bank credit to the enterprise sector and the implications of this allocation for aggregate supply and macroeconomic performance in the former socialist economies. It first develops a model to explain how changes in demand for money by the...

With pay as you go schemes in place, population aging will impose a heavy fiscal burden on young and future cohorts. However, these cohorts may also profit from larger inheritances as the number of heirs declines. The aim of this paper is to explore the compensating potential of private...

This paper analyzes the role of social safety nets in the form of redistributional transfers and wage subsidies. It argues that public welfare programs can be viewed as devices to prevent crime or disruption because they tend to increase the opportunity cost of engaging in crime or disruptive...

Pension reform in Poland is an urgent priority. Benefit expenditures have placed considerable pressure on public finances, hampering stabilization efforts. Demographic developments will exacerbate this pressure although probably less than some estimates have suggested. The main long-term...

With pay as you go schemes in place, population aging will impose a heavy fiscal burden on young and future cohorts. However, these cohorts may also profit from larger inheritances as the number of heirs declines. The aim of this paper is to explore the compensating potential of private...

Private income transfers are increasingly viewed as an alternative to government income transfers such as social insurance and foreign aid. This paper models the incentive effects of government-subsidized private transfers and finds that although there is a significant welfare benefit to...

Federal structures create the possibility of vertical tax externalities between levels of government, with the private sector's response to the tax policy decisions of one level affecting the tax base of the other. Such effects arise most obviously when both levels of government co-occupy the...

The observation that inflation reduces real revenues when there are lags in tax collection has long been a strong argument against seigniorage. However, with the exception of Dixit, who used a general equilibrium model to reject this argument, the optimal taxation literature has not analyzed how...