Over the 1967-2015 period, net wage inequality has decreased in France by 25%, in contrast to the significant increase experienced by most developed countries. Less well known is the fact that labor cost inequality has actually increased by 8% over the same period. We show that, (a) standard...

This paper estimates the effects of payroll taxes on workers and firms. Using temporary and long-lasting payroll tax cuts across different municipalities in Finland and rich firm-level data, we find that payroll taxes affect wages at larger firms but not at medium-sized and smaller firms. These...

Despite unambiguous predictions of the canonical model of a competitive labor market, empirical studies on the labor market effects of payroll taxation provide conflicting evidence. Our meta-analysis shows that varying degrees of labor market competitiveness across places and time could be one...

I study a corporate tax reform in Brazil that reduces eligible firms’ payroll tax liability from an average of 31% to 12% of their total wage bill. The tax cut generates a 9.1% increase on employment and zero effect on wages. However, the reform deteriorates within firm wage inequality....

In response to high and enduring youth unemployment, large payroll tax cuts for young workers were implemented in two Swedish reforms in 2007 and 2009. This paper analyses the effects of the reforms on worker outcomes and firm performance in the retail industry, an important employer of young...