Despite numerous studies on labor supply, the size of elasticities is rarely comparable acrosscountries. In this paper, we suggest the first large-scale international comparison ofelasticities, while netting out possible differences due to methods, data selection and theperiod of investigation....

Whether observed differences in redistributive policies across countries are the result ofdifferences in social preferences or efficiency constraints is an important question that pavesthe debate about the optimality of welfare regimes. To shed new light on this question, weestimate labor supply...

By inverting Saez (2002)’s model of optimal income taxation, we characterize theredistributive preferences of the Irish government between 1987 and 2005. The (marginal)social welfare function revealed by this approach is consistently comparable over time andshow great stability despite...

Using counterfactual microsimulations, Shapley decompositions of time change in inequalityand poverty indices make it possible to disentangle and quantify the relative effect of taxbenefitpolicy changes, compared to all other effects including shifts in the distribution ofmarket income. Using...

To assess the impact of tax-benefit policy changes on income distribution over time, wesuggest a methodology based on counterfactual simulations. We start by decomposingchanges in inequality/poverty indices into three contributions: reforms of the tax-benefitstructure (rules, rates, etc.),...

The Polish tax and benefit system is presented in the context of a recently developedmicrosimulation model, SIMPL. The model allows simulating direct taxes, social contributionsand public benefits in Poland for the years 2003 and 2005...>br>

We use Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian LFS data (2002-2007) complemented with severalother surveys to compare the profile of Baltic temporary workers abroad before and after EUaccession with that of stayers and return migrants. Determinants of migration and return, aswell as selection issues...

This paper focuses on the links between informal care provision and labour market activity atthe sub-national level. Within-country analysis of this issue has been very limited to datedespite the wide regional variations in informal care provision that often exist. This issue isimportant in the...

The potentially adverse labor market effects of severance pay mandates are a continuingsource of policy concern. In a seminal study, Lazear (1990) found that contract avoidance ofseverance pay firing costs was theoretically simple – a bonding scheme would do – but thatempirically the labor...

Building on the right-to-manage model of collective bargaining, this paper tries to infer unionpower from the observed results in wage setting. It derives a time-varying indicator of unionstrength and confronts it with annual data for Germany. The results show that union powerwas relatively...