Suchergebnisse

Using a sample of seventy-seven countries, this paper focuses on
marginal tax rates and the income thresholds at which they apply to
examine how the tax changes of the 1980s and 1990s have influenced
economic growth, the distribution of income, and the share of taxes paid
by various income groups. Many countries substantially reduced their
highest marginal rates during the 1985-1995 period. The findings indicate
that countries that reduced their highest marginal rates grew more rapidly
than those that maintained high marginal rates. At the same time, the
income distribution in several of the tax cutting countries became more
unequal while there was little change or even a reduction in income
inequality in most countries that maintained high marginal rates. Finally,
the evidence suggests that there was a shift in the payment of the
personal income tax away from those with low and middle incomes and toward
those with the highest incomes.

A large literature has found positive associations between economic freedom and income, growth, and a variety of other desirable outcomes. This paper surveys the literature that seeks to explain the causes of economic freedom. Some of the most consistent findings in this literature are that current levels of economic freedom are strongly correlated with past levels; freer countries have more difficulty continuing to improve their economic freedom; democracy and political freedom are positively associated with economic freedom; and inequality is negatively related. (JEL E02, E14, O17, O43, P1)

AbstractAfter Georgia declared its independence from the Soviet Union, it experienced civil war and strife for more than a decade. In late 2003, the peaceful Rose Revolution installed a new government that began a series of radical market‐liberal reforms. However, the effectiveness of these reforms was controversial. We offer a rigorous evaluation of these reforms via the synthetic control method which creates a credible counterfactual. Compared to the synthetic controls, we find that the reforms enacted after the Rose Revolution led to significant improvements in Georgia's social and economic development, albeit with temporary side effects and argue that this case provides some support for the effectiveness of rapid, multidimensional reform.