No abstract

This article concerns optimal income taxation under asymmetric information in a two-type OLG model when individuals' relative consumption matters. Positional concerns affect the policy choices via two channels: (i) the average degree of positionality and (ii) positionality differences between the low-ability type and the mimicker. Under plausible empirical estimates, the marginal labor income tax rates become substantially larger, and the absolute value of the marginal capital income tax rate of the low-ability type becomes substantially smaller, than in the conventional model. In addition to measures of reference consumption based on average consumption, we also address within-generation and upward comparisons.

This paper concerns the regional growth pattern in Sweden, and the purpose is to analyse what factors determine the growth rate of average income and the net migration at the regional level. We find a negative relationship between the initial level of regional average income and subsequent income growth. The results also imply that the initial endowment of human capital (measured as the percentage of the population with higher education) has a positive effect on the subsequent net migration. Other determinants of regional income growth and population movements are 'fixed endowments' (related to geography and climate) and regional labour market characteristics. Cet article traite de la distribution de la croissance en Suède et cherche àanalyser sur le plan régional les déterminants clés du taux de croissance du revenu moyen et le solde migratoire. Il s'avère une corrélation peu étroite entre le niveau intial du revenu moyen régional et la croissance du revenu qui s'ensuit. En plus, les résultats laissent supposer que la dotation initiale en capital humain (àsavoir, le pourcentage de la population qui est diplômé) a un effet positif sur le solde migratoire qui s'ensuit. D'autres déterminants clés de la croissance du revenu régional et du déplacement de la population sont les ''dotations fixes'' (liées àla géographie et au climat) et les particularités du marchédu travail régional. Dieser Aufsatz behandelt das Muster regionalen Wachstums in Schweden in der Absicht, zu analysieren, welche Faktoren die Wachstumsrate durchschnittlicher Einkommen und die Nettowanderung auf Regionalebene bestimmen. Die Autoren stellen eine negative Beziehung zwischen der anfänglichen Höhe regionaler Durchschnittseinkommen und anschließender Einkommenszunahme fest. Die Ergebnisse legen auch nahe, daß der anfängliche Einsatz vom Menschenkapital (das als Prozentsatz der Bevölkerung nit höherer Schulbildung gemessen wird), eine positive Wirkung auf die anschließende Nettowanderung ausübt. Weitere Bestimmungsfaktoren für die ˜ unahme regionaler Einkommen und der Bevölkerungsverschiebungen sind (von Geographie und Klima bestimmte) 'Festwerte' und Eigenschaften des regionalen Arbeitsmarktes.Regional Income Growth, Regional Migration,

This paper deals with optimal income taxation and relative consumption under a welfarist government that fully respects people's preferences and a paternalist government that does not share the consumer preference for relative consumption.Consistent with previous findings, relative consumption concerns typically lead to higher marginal income tax rates in the welfarist case. A remarkable result is that the optimal tax rules turn out to be very similar when people's preferences for social comparisons are not respected. Indeed, if the relative consumption concerns are based on mean value comparisons and all consumers are equally positional, or if they are driven by within-type comparisons, the paternalist and welfarist governments can implement their respective first-best allocations through exactly the same marginal income tax formulas. Yet, also in these cases, there are some remaining differences that follow from second-best considerations.