Unité mixte de recherche 7235

Tax Policies and Informality in South Africa

Eliane El Badaoui, Riccardo Magnani

[en]We use a micro-macro simulation model to evaluate the effects of labor income tax policies in South Africa. The country is characterized by a high unemployment rate while employment in the informal sector is relatively low. Our approach is based on the aggregation of the preferences of individuals who choose among (i) working in the formal sector,(ii) working in the informal sector, and (iii) not working. We quantify the effects of different tax policies on the individual’s labor supply choices (formal/informal employment, work/leisure) and at the macro level (GDP, equilibrium wages, size of the informal sector, and unemployment rate). We further analyze the effects in terms of income distribution, poverty and inequality. We find that the introduction of a negative income tax system reduces inequality and poverty but, at the same time, discourages people from participating in the labor market and working in the formal sector and, consequently worsens the equitye efficiency trade-off. We find however that the equity-efficiency trade-off can be improved by introducing (i) a (revenue-neutral) tax system which combines a sufficiently high at rate (25%) and lump-sum transfer paid only to formal workers; (ii) an expansionary policy (a reduction in total taxes or an increase in public expenditures). Interestingly, even though they increase the informal sector, these reforms reduce inequality and poverty through a reduction in the level of unemployment.[/en]

AGENDA

mardi 5 décembre 2023

Recherche et Economie et Socioéconomie Politique, des Institutions et des Régulations (RESPIR)

Clément Fontan (UC Louvain)

The ECB and the inflation monsters: strategic framing and the responsibility imperative (1998-2023)

jeudi 7 décembre 2023

Groupe de travail Economie Comportementale

Vincent Lenglin (Université Catholique de Lille)

TBA

jeudi 7 décembre 2023

Doctorants

Emmanuelle Faure

Explaining economic performances in the French employment zone: spatial externalities and related variety

lundi 11 décembre 2023

Law, Institutions and Economics in Nanterre (LIEN)

Bastien Michel (LEMNA, Nantes)

Measuring the Impact of Incarceration on Recidivism in Denmark

mercredi 13 décembre 2023

Économies du monde musulman

Chahir Zaki (LEO, Université d’Orléans)

Dette en Egypte : conjoncture défavorable ou structure vulnérable ?

jeudi 14 décembre 2023

Lunch

Hugo ORIOLA

Salle 101-102 à 12h

Opportunistic Political Central Bank Coverage: Does media coverage of ECB’s Monetary Policy Impacts German Political Parties’ Popularity?

jeudi 14 décembre 2023

Développement Durable Environnement et Energie (DDEE)

Emeline Bezin (CNRS/CREM)

Salle 101-102

TBA

jeudi 14 décembre 2023

Séminaire Econom’IA

Benjamin Ooghe-Tabanou (médialab - Sciences Po Paris)

Salle G614A de 11h à 12h30

Outils, méthodes et productions numériques à partir de données du web au médialab de Sciences Po

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