• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.1-30
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• 2018

The 1995 tax reform in Korea has brought adjustment to the tax bracket, marginal tax rate, and tax deduction system which resulted in significant decrease in the income tax progressivity. In this paper we study the causal effect of the tax reform on male labor supply using difference-in-differences method. Using the data from Economic Active Population Survey (EAPS) and Daewoo Panel Data, we find about 1.5% increase in the hours worked of male wage workers.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.61-89
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• 2008

In this study, by extending the model proposed by Fullerton and Kim(2006), we explored the tax interdependency effect to examine the relationship between environmental tax and economic growth. The theoretical model shows that environmental tax cannot always stimulate economic growth if other taxes such as labor or income tax are distorted by environmental taxes. However, environmental tax can boost economic growth if cutting distortionary taxes offset the distortion of taxes, or improvement of abatement knowledge can sufficiently reduce the cost of production. An empirical analysis using 14 OECD countries shows a positive relationship between the increase of implicit energy tax rate and the increase of implicit income tax rate. Meanwhile, empirical analysis does not provide enough evidence to claim that the increase of implicit energy tax decreases implicit labor tax. We can presume that environmental tax policy in Europe did not necessarily mitigate the burden of labor tax.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.177-196
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• 2007

This paper analyzes welfare effects of revenue neutral tax reform using a small open economy dynamic general equilibrium model. We apply this model to the Korean data and examine welfare effects of various tax reforms; removal of capital income tax and/or labor income tax financed by consumption tax. We investigate both long run equilibrium and transitional dynamics. The results suggest that there are sizable welfare gains (1-3% of lifetime consumption) when factor income taxes are replaced by consumption tax. Overall gains are generated by long run gains despite short run welfare losses. However, there is welfare loss when capital income tax is replaced by labor income tax.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.53-73
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• 2018

Using an overlapping generations model, this paper examines tax policy effects across generations. The model incorporates housing assets separately from capital assets and includes taxes on labor income, capital income, consumption and housing assets. Tax reforms for each tax rate have different effects on tax burdens across generations and the overall efficiency of the economy, leading to different welfare costs for generations. Specifically, raising housing property taxes results in the smallest welfare loss by future generations, as in the model it does not hurt economic efficiency and the tax burden increases mainly for the elderly, who have accumulated housing assets in preparation for retirement.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.371-416
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• 2012

This study has developed Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model reflecting endogenous growth economic theory, with the aim of analyzing double dividend hypothesis. This study analyzes possibility of economic growth and environmental improvement at the same time when government recycles the revenue of carbon tax to reduce existed taxes such as consumption tax, labor income tax, corporate tax. It also assesses the case of subsidy on R&D investment of renewable energy. With new and renewable generation technology adopted and disseminated, GDP loss would be lessened to a great degree. Tax recycling would provide economic gain by reducing distortion existed in the existing fiscal structure. The magnitude of economic gains from carbon tax recycling is biggest for recycling into corporate tax, and labor income tax, and then consumption tax in this order. It is also shown that double dividend effects occur in dynamic terms when government uses a carbon tax revenue to subsidize on R&D investment. At the end of the analysis period, emissions reduction would not result in GDP loss but in GDP gain. In particular, recycling into R&D increase would produce the largest and fastest GDP gain. Thus, implementing emissions reduction target would require careful consideration of economic effects by various policy instrument, including carbon tax.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.225-248
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to estimate the optimal tax rate for gasoline in Korea, by utilizing both the parameters for the estimation of the optimal fuel taxes and the theoretical model considering externalities proposed by Parry and Small (2005). The result of simulation shows that the optimum fuel taxes in Korea is calculated in 382 korean won per liter, which is lower than fuel tax rate(529 korean won per liter) currently being imposed. The fuel tax is composed of two types of tax. First is Pigouvian tax caused by negative externality such as traffic congestion and accidents etc. And second is Ramsey tax for optimal commodity sales taxes. We find that Pigouvian tax in Korea is higher than one of U.S. and U.K and Ramsey tax is very small due to the inelastic labor supply comparing to consumption elasticity of fuel. When adjusting the elasticity of labor supply to the UK level, the optimal fuel tax in Korea is very close to the current level of 480 korean won per liter. This paper contributes to suggest the reasonable estimation and discussion in the social optimum fuel tax rates by utilizing the theory and simulation and improve the possibility of the derivation of optimum fuel taxes through both securing the exact parameters and modifying the theoretical model suitable for Korea.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.361-401
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• 2021

This paper sets up a two agent small open economy with monopolistically competitive firms and catching up with the Joneses to investigate the labor and capital Laffer curve, taking into account aging population along the line of Auray et al. (2016), Galí and Monacelli (2005), and Trabandt and Uhlig (2011). The paper finds that the higher the market power of firms is, the larger the consumption inequality between asset holders and non-asset holders is in the economy with aging population. It also finds that there is room for government to increase the tax revenue by raising tax rates under the economy with higher markup, as households will work more hours to compensate for their loss of labor income to tax hikes. The expected maximum tax revenue is likely to shrink with progressive taxations, since non-asset holders with additional dividend income work less and consume more. The paper finds that the fiscal multiplier decreases with the degree of progressive redistribution.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.357-368
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• 2014

So far, land use-transportation models have been used exclusively for numerical analysis. A recent theoretical endeavor now enables us to derive the first-order derivative of the model's welfare function with respect to policy variables. I extend this methodology into the institutional setting where toll revenues are recycled through labor income tax. In this setting, the first-order derivative is composed of (1) the increase in welfare due to reduced congestion, and (2) the decrease in welfare due to interaction with the existing labor income tax. This result coincides with existing theory in the non-spatial model.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.689-706
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• 2002

This paper makes some contributions on optimal environmental taxes in the generalized utilitarian social welfare function. It is not to suggest as to appropriate environmental tax rates but to contribute the direction of environmental tax policy. The tax rates depend on parameters of individual utility function (CES utility function) and social welfare function and income tax rate. The major findings are that, as the elasticity of substitution between labor and leisure and the concavity of social welfare function increase, both the optimal tax rates and the government demogrants rise. And, as the parameter of environmental pollution in the individual utility function increases, the optimal tax rates also increase. For the future study, this model involves the income tax and the capital tax as endogenous variables and the wage changes due to international trade.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.185-223
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• 2008

This paper considers a heterogeneous agent dynamic general equilibrium model and analyzes effects of an increase in labor income tax rate on labor market and the aggregate variables in Korea. The fiscal policy regarding how the government uses the additional tax revenue may take the two forms: 1) general transfer and 2) earned income tax credit (EITC). The model features are as follows: 1) Workers are heterogeneous in their productivity. 2)Labor is indivisible, hence the analysis focuses on the variation in labor supply through the extensive margin in response to a change in fiscal policy. 3) The incomplete markets are introduced, so individual workers can not perfectly insure themselves against risks related to stochastic changes in income or employment status. 4) The model is of general equilibrium, hence it is equiped to analyze the feedback effect of changes in aggregate variables on individual workers' decisions. In the case of general transfer policy, the government equally distributes the additional tax revenue to all workers regardless of their employment states. Under this policy, an increase in the labor income tax rate dampens work incentives of individual workers so that the aggregate employment rate decreases by 1% compared with the benchmark economy. In the case of EITC policy, only employed workers whose labor incomes are below a certain EITC ceiling are eligible for the EITC benefits. Unlike the general transfer policy, the EITC induces low-income workers to participate the labor market to be eligible for EITC benefits. Hence, the aggregate employment rate may increase by 2.7% at the maximum. As the EITC ceiling increases, too many workers can collect the EITC but the benefits per worker becomes too little so that the increase in employment rate is negligible. By and large, this study demonstrates that EITC may effectively raise the aggregate employment rate, and that it can be a useful policy tool in response to the decrease in the labor force due to population aging as observed in Korea recently.