scholarly journals Is the EITC as Good as an NIT? Conditional Cash Transfers and Tax Incidence

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse Rothstein
Keyword(s):  
Labor Supply ◽  
Single Mothers ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfers ◽  
Tax Incidence ◽  
Negative Income ◽  
Negative Income Tax

The EITC is intended to encourage work. But EITC-induced increases in labor supply may drive wages down. I simulate the economic incidence of the EITC. In each scenario that I consider, a large portion of low-income single mothers' EITC payments is captured by employers through reduced wages. Workers who are EITC ineligible also see wage declines. By contrast, a traditional Negative Income Tax (NIT) discourages work, and so induces large transfers from employers to their workers. With my preferred parameters, $1 in EITC spending increases after-tax incomes by $0.73, while $1 spent on the NIT yields $1.39. (JEL H22, H23, H24, H31, J22)

Another Low Road to Basic Income? Mapping a Pragmatic Model for Adopting a Basic Income in Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy A Smith-Carrier ◽  
Steven Green
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfers ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Income Security ◽  
Disadvantaged Groups ◽  
Negative Income ◽  
Negative Income Tax

AbstractDrawing from both theoretical and empirical research, the literature on basic income (BI) is now voluminous, pronouncing both its merits and its limitations. Burgeoning research documents the impacts of un/conditional cash transfers and negative income tax programs, with many studies highlighting the effectiveness of these programs in reducing poverty, and improving a host of social, economic and health outcomes. We consider possible avenues for BI architecture to be adopted within Canada’s existing constellation of income security programs, to the benefit of disadvantaged groups in society. Identifying key federal and provincial (i.e., Ontario) transfer and tax benefit programs, we highlight which programs might best be maintained or converted to a BI. While opponents decry the (alleged) exorbitant costs of BI schemes, we suggest that the existing approach not only produces an ineffective system—which actually engenders poverty and the health and social problems that accompany it—but an excessively costly one.

The Labor-Supply Effects and Costs of Alternative Negative Income Tax Programs

1978 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Keeley ◽  
Philip K. Robins ◽  
Robert G. Spiegelman ◽  
Richard W. West
Keyword(s):  
Labor Supply ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Negative Income ◽  
Negative Income Tax

Forecasting the Effects of a Negative Income Tax Program

ILR Review ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry R. Johnson ◽  
John H. Pencavel
Keyword(s):  
Labor Supply ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Single Women ◽  
Married Women ◽  
Negative Income ◽  
Married Men ◽  
Supply Functions ◽  
Hours Of Work ◽  
The Hours ◽  
Negative Income Tax

This paper outlines a scheme that forecasts the change in net earnings or in hours worked that results from the introduction of a negative income tax (NIT) program. The authors illustrate this scheme by estimating labor supply functions for married men, married women, and single women who participated in the Seattle-Denver Income Maintenance Experiments. These functions are then used to simulate the effects of several NIT programs. The findings suggest that changes in the wage rate of an individual covered by an NIT program result in important changes in the hours of work of the individual's spouse.

Income Tax, Wage Tax, and Optimal Tax

1976 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-15
Author(s):  
Eitan Berglas
Keyword(s):  
Labor Supply ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
High Income ◽  
Tax System ◽  
Wage Subsidies ◽  
Optimal Tax ◽  
Negative Income ◽  
Aggregation Problem ◽  
Wage Tax ◽  
Negative Income Tax

Recent studies find wage subsidies (WS) to be superior to negative income tax (NIT). However, these studies suffer from a serious aggregation problem. A model is suggested in which these aggregation problems are avoided. In this model there exists a WS schedule that increases labor supply compared with an equally costly NIT. However, the WS may be Pareto inferior. Furthermore, for high income workers given any income tax system it is always possible to find a wage tax system which both is Pareto superior and increases labor supply. The merits of the model and its implications for other optimal income tax studies are critically discussed.

Negative Income Tax

1982 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
NEIL J. SALKIND ◽  
RON HASKINS
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Relative Effectiveness ◽  
Educational Status ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Negative Income ◽  
Income Maintenance ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Negative Income Tax ◽  
The Impact

The general purpose of the four negative income tax (NIT) experiments was to evaluate the impact of a guaranteed income on labor participation. Beyond this general objective, certain subobjectives can be identified, three of which define the purpose of this analysis. The first is to determine what effect an income maintenance experiment program can have on the health and educational status of children from low-income families, the second is to examine the long-range effects of such a program, and the third is to complete a policy analysis using these results to consider the relative effectiveness of service programs and income maintenance programs in promoting child development and stability. The results show that the NIT experiments were effective in reducing a child's risk of being at poverty. The implications of this are discussed from several policy perspectives.

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