Income uncertainty, savings, and asset allocation of private households ; Effects of differential income taxation and policy reform evaluation for Germany ; Einkommensunsicherheit, Sparen und Vermögensallokation privater Haushalte ; Effekte differenzieller Einkommensbesteuerung und Analyse einer Pol...
This dissertation contributes to the ongoing discussions about the relevance of income taxation in the context of asset accumulation. On the one hand, income uncertainty is emphasized as a relevant factor of influence in the intertemporal consumption decision. On the other hand, the differential treatment of capital and labor income in German income tax law is identified as an additional influential parameter in the consumption-savings decision of private households, as well as in the subsequent decision of how to allocate a given level of savings to a portfolio of various assets. There is substantial empirical literature that, while certainly not providing unambiguous support, generally finds that taxation plays a considerable role in the consumption- savings decision of private households, as well as their decision of which assets to buy and of how to structure the composition of their savings. However, there is not much empirical evidence yet regarding the welfare effects of capital income taxation. Differential taxation of labor income and capital income can on the one hand have non-negligible effects on the intertemporal consumption allocation of private households if relative asset prices are distorted. On the other hand, significant welfare costs can arise if assets are taxed at heterogeneous rates, so that households may suffer utility losses from altering their allocation of savings to a portfolio of assets. The central research question that is subject to analysis in this dissertation is whether and how tax-induced distortions in after-tax returns to assets, as well as to compound savings, affect households' consumption- savings decision as well as asset demand. Empirical analyses of the effects of differential income taxation on these sequential demand decisions are conducted, using various micro data sets on income and savings of private households in Germany. In addition, distributional and welfare effects related to asset demand that result from a major tax reform are evaluated. The methodology of ...