OECD Economics Department Working Papers

ISSN :
1815-1973 (en ligne)
DOI :
10.1787/18151973
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Working papers from the Economics Department of the OECD that cover the full range of the Department’s work including the economic situation, policy analysis and projections; fiscal policy, public expenditure and taxation; and structural issues including ageing, growth and productivity, migration, environment, human capital, housing, trade and investment, labour markets, regulatory reform, competition, health, and other issues.
 

Less Income Inequality and More Growth – Are They Compatible? Part 3. Income Redistribution via Taxes and Transfers Across OECD Countries You or your institution have access to this content

Auteur(s):
Isabelle Joumard1, Mauro Pisu1, Debra Bloch1
Author Affiliations
  • 1: OCDE, France

Date de publication
10 jan 2012
Bibliographic information
N°:
926
Pages
68
DOI
10.1787/5k9h296b1zjf-en

Cacher / Voir l'abstract

Taxes and transfers reduce inequality in disposable income relative to market income. The effect varies, however, across OECD countries. The redistributive impact of taxes and transfers depends on the size, mix and the progressivity of each component. Some countries with a relatively small tax and welfare system (e.g. Australia) achieve the same redistributive impact as countries characterised by much higher taxes and transfers (e.g. Germany) because they rely more on income taxes, which are more progressive than other taxes, and on means-tested cash transfers. This paper provides an assessment of the redistributive effect of the main taxes and cash transfers based on a set of policy indicators and a literature review. It also identifies empirically four groups of countries with tax and transfer systems that share broadly similar features. The paper then assesses potential trade-offs and complementarities between economic growth and income redistribution objectives associated with various tax and transfer reform options.
Mots-clés:
welfare system, income inequality, transfers, taxes, redistribution, cluster analysis
Classification JEL:
  • H2: Public Economics / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
  • H23: Public Economics / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue / Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
  • H53: Public Economics / National Government Expenditures and Related Policies / Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
  • I3: Health, Education, and Welfare / Welfare and Poverty
  • I38: Health, Education, and Welfare / Welfare and Poverty / Government Policy; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs