Fiscal policies and the prices of labor: a comparison of the U.K. and U.S.

Abstract

This paper measures the 2007-13 evolution of employment tax rates in the U.K. and the U.S. The U.S. changes are greater, in the direction of taxing a greater fraction of the value created by employment, and primarily achieved with new implicit tax rates. Even though both countries implemented a temporary "fiscal stimulus," their tax rate dynamics were different: the U.S. stimulus increased rates, whereas the U.K. stimulus reduced them. The U.K. later increased the tax on employment during its "austerity" period. Tax rate measurements are a first ingredient for cross-country comparisons of labor markets during and after the financial crisis.JEL Codes: E24, H31, I38, J22