• 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.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.1-30
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• 2015

Based on a quantitative, heterogeneous agent general equilibrium model, we compute the optimal tax rates for labor and capital incomes for the Korean economy. According to our model, a more progressive income tax schedule along with a higher capital tax rate can increase average welfare by as much as 0.86% of permanent consumption. Approximately 64% of house-holds, those with low assets and low productivity, are better off when a more progressive optimal tax schedule is adopted. Despite the potentially significant welfare gains, our calculation should be interpreted with caution because our benchmark model does not take into account possible capital outflows or the increased administrative costs associated with high taxes.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.123-159
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• 2013

We use a multi-regional dynamic computable general equilibrium model to explain an economic effect of $CO_2$ tax on the national and regional economy of Korea. First, we compare two $CO_2$ taxes: a region-specific $CO_2$ tax and a uniform $CO_2$ tax. In the region-specific tax, the $CO_2$ tax rate in the capital area and the south-eastern region is much greater than those in other regions. GDP loss resulting from the region-specific tax is bigger than that in the uniform tax. Second, we consider three options for tax recycling: consumption tax recycling, labor-income tax recycling, and corporate-income tax recycling. The corporate-income tax recycling has the least GDP-loss effect over the three options. These results support that it is more efficient to use a uniform $CO_2$ tax rate than a region-specific $CO_2$ tax rate and that the corporate-income tax recycling is more desirable in a sense of efficiency than the consumption and labor-income tax recycling options.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.27-41
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• 1990

In this study the economic impacts of government support of shipping industry in the labor rich country are appraised in a general equilibrium model. Shipping industry subsidies (which are supposed to be supplied by lump-sum tax) will decrease disposable income by shifting productive resources from traded goods to the comparatively disadvantageous transport sector, and at the same time reduce the implicit tariff effect by lowering transport costs. The net effect of shipping industry subsidies is to increase social welfare because the latter positive effect of shipping industry subsidies is to increase social welfare because the latter positive effect dominates the former negative effect. Such an increase in social welfare can never be expected from competitive traded goods industry subsidies in the case of which social welfare will actually decrease because of inefficient resource allocation resulting from the subsidies. In addition it is worth noting that the subsidies on the most capital intensive shipping industry will rectify unevenness in income distribution by raising relative price of labor contrary to subsidies on capital intensive traded goods.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.55-71
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the financial status of single mother households by financial ratios. Data was drawn from Labor Panel Survey Data in 1999, and 198 single mother households were selected. Major findings were as follows: 1) The levels of after-tax income, income per person, expenditure, expenditure per person, asset, pure asset, and debt of single mother households were lower than their counter-parts. 2) All financial ratios showed that both financial security and financial growth of single mother households were lower than their counter-parts. Especially, 22% of single mother households had the lower level of income that the lowest cost of living.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.89-112
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• 2014

This paper characterizes an optimal combination of grant and income-contingent loans (ICL) from efficiency and equity points of view as a government subsidy program for higher-education. In particular, we show that it is always desirable to introduce ICL for students regardless of their household incomes, and also provide arguments for the superiority of tax-financing system to loans with risk-premium as a financing mechanism of ICL. From policy point of view, this paper suggests a need for the extended coverage of our ICL system, while justifying its current tax-financing system.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.111-143
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• 2011

As the 'jobless growth' is developing into a worldwide phenomenon, many countries try to recover a virtuous relationship between the growth and employment using various wage subsidy programs. This study focuses on wage subsidy to employers, labor demand-side wage subsidy for which one can think of two types-a tax credit(a flat wage subsidy) and a social insurance premium exemption(a proportional wage subsidy). For job creation, Korean government reintroduced a tax credit to small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) which have increased their employment level in 2010. But many experts has continuously insisted that it should be replaced with a social insurance premium exemption arguing only a few SMEs benefit from the tax credit as most of them are actually not paying any corporate or general income tax bills. However, as the insurance premium exemption accompanies an increase in the amount of budget with the coverage widen, one cannot confirm its cost effectiveness over the tax credit. This paper aims to provide a theoretical analysis to derive some formal conditions under which a social insurance premium exemption creates more jobs than a tax credit does given a budget constraint. We show that the former's dominance over the latter depends on whether there exists a dead zone of social insurance or not. If there does not exist a dead zone, a social insurance premium exemption is more desirable in many cases, whereas one cannot guarantees its dominance over a tax credit if there exists a dead zone. Therefore in order to realize its dominance, the government should minimize a dead zone so that most SMEs effectively benefit from the insurance premium exemption. In addition, applying discriminative exemption rates which reflect each firm's job conditions such as wage level and labor demand/supply sensitivity, the government try to enhance job creation effect.