This paper analyzes the e¤ectiveness of the tax and transfer systemsin the European Union and the US to act as an automatic stabilizer in the currenteconomic crisis. We …nd that automatic stabilizers absorb 38 per cent of a propor-tional income shock in the EU, compared to 32 per cent in the...

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...

This paper investigates to what extent the tax and transfer systems in Europe protecthouseholds at different income levels against losses in current income caused by economicdownturns like the present financial crisis. We use a multi country micro simulation model toanalyse how shocks on market...