For years, online retailers did not have to collect sales taxes at the time of sale. Over the past decade, states have passed laws to capture this lost revenue. I study the effect of closing the online sales tax loophole on online spending and search. Using online shopping data, sales taxes, and...

When the zero lower bound on nominal interest rate binds, monetary policy makers may lack traditional tools to stimulate aggregate demand. We investigate whether "unconventional" fiscal policy, in the form of pre-announced consumption tax changes, has the potential to meaningfully shift durables...

A central assumption in public finance is that individuals optimize fully with respect to the incentives created by tax policies. In this paper, we test this assumption using two empirical strategies. First, we conducted an experiment at a grocery store where we posted tax-inclusive prices for...

Recommended readings (Machine generated): Michael R. Baye and John Morgan (2001), 'Information Gatekeepers on the Internet and the Competitiveness of Homogeneous Product Markets', American Economic Review, 91 (3), June, 454-74 -- Jean-Charles Rochet and Jean Tirole (2003), 'Platform Competition...

Sales tax holidays (STHs) are the temporary suspension of state (and some local) sales taxes on selected retail items for a brief period of time. The policy has gained popularity in recent years, beginning in one state in 1997 and growing to twenty by 2008. Despite the increased frequency with...