[What is a cost-benefit analysis?].

After exploring both the crucial role of the interest elasticity of the saving rate in the analysis of a wide variety of issues in economic - particularly tax - policy and reasons why previous studies of the effect of interest rates on consumption and saving have biased the estimated elasticity toward zero, this study presents new estimates of consumption functions based on aggregate U.S. time series data. The results are striking: a variety of functional forms, estimation methods and definitions of the real after-tax rate of return invariably lead to the conclusion of a substantial interest elasticity of saving.

Taxation, Saving, and the Rate of Interest

The income elasticity of the value per statistical life (VSL) is an important parameter for policy analysis. Mortality risk reductions often dominate the quantified benefits of environmental and other policies, and estimates of their value are frequently transferred across countries with significantly different income levels. U.S. regulatory agencies typically assume that a 1.0 percent change in real income over time will lead to a 0.4 to 0.6 percent change in the VSL. While elasticities within this range are supported by substantial research, they appear nonsensical if applied to populations with significantly smaller incomes. When transferring values between high and lower income countries, analysts often instead assume an elasticity of 1.0, but the resulting VSL estimates appear large in comparison to income. Elasticities greater than 1.0 are supported by research on the relationship between long-term economic growth and the VSL, by cross-country comparisons, and by new research that estimates the VSL by income quantile. Caution is needed when applying these higher elasticities, however, because the resulting VSLs appear smaller than expected future earnings or consumption in some cases, contrary to theory. In addition to indicating the need for more research, this comparison suggests that, in the interim, VSL estimates should be bounded below by estimates of future income or consumption.

https://www.tse-fr.eu/sites/default/files/medias/doc/by/hammitt/elasticity.pdf

The Income Elasticity of the Value per Statistical Life: Transferring Estimates Between High and Low Income Populations

Indigenous People and Poverty in Latin America: An Empirical Analysis. World Bank Regional and Sectoral Studies.

Economic significance of cruise tourism.

A broad based consumption tax, such as a value added tax, is generally considered to be a regressive tax. This conclusion, however, has not taken into account the fact that in developing countries the commodities on which poor households spend most of their income, even if they are included in the legal tax base, are administratively impractical to tax. This paper employs a rich data set on household incomes and expenditures for the Dominican Republic. The data set covers 2042 goods and services purchased by households of different income and consumption levels. It also contains information on the type of establishment from which the items were purchased. With this information we estimate the effective rate of tax that has been paid on each item purchased by households. These estimations include the effect of the different rates of the tax compliance across households with different expenditure levels. The results of the study show that the burden of the current VAT in the Dominican Republic is progressive over all the quintiles of household expenditure. Furthermore, if the base of the VAT is made comprehensive, the estimated incidence of the burden of the VAT is still progressive over all the quintiles household expenditure.

/pdf/is-the-value-added-tax-naturally-progressive-43n8c41ql0.pdf

Is the Value Added Tax Naturally Progressive

A VAT Revenue Simulation Model for Tax Reform in Developing Countries

The social or economic discount rate is the threshold rate used to calculate the net present value of an investment project, a program, or a regulatory intervention to see whether the proposed expenditures are economically worthwhile to undertake. The size of the economic rate of discount has been a policy issue in Canada for many years. The debate has been primarily concerned with the empirical measurement of the economic opportunity cost of funds. The purpose of this paper is to reexamine and update the empirical estimation of what is the appropriate economic discount rate for Canada. The results suggest that estimates of the economic discount rate can range from 7.78 percent to 8.39 percent real. As a consequence, we conclude that for Canada an 8 percent real rate is an appropriate discount rate to use when calculating the economic net present value of the flows of economic benefits and costs over time.

/pdf/the-economic-opportunity-cost-of-capital-for-canada-an-3dd0n0cj30.pdf

The Economic Opportunity Cost of Capital for Canada - An Empirical Update

The paper develops a theoretical framework to measure the effective federal and provincial sales tax rates for final demand commodities. The results show that non-neutralities exist not only in the federal sales tax but also in other taxes in the Canadian commodity tax system. One of the most significant findings is that the combined hidden federal and provincial sales tax content of exports may be as much as 1.3 percent of their sales value.

Measuring the Non-Neutralities of Sales and Excise Taxes in Canada

Documenting the evolution of economic development and fiscal policies in Taiwan over the last four decades, this work explores the effectiveness of specific tax and trade policies. The authors make a major revision to the previously accepted role played by the export processing zones and the protection of domestic producers from foreign competition. The extensive use of duty exemption systems enabled the government to create competition among the exporting firms, and the innovative design of economic policies and administrative systems helped the private sector generates savings, expand investments and promote exports. This work analyzes how unique fiscal policies and administrative practices were designed to foster the rapid growth and development of Taiwan during this period.

Chun-Yan Kuo

Papers

Is the Value Added Tax Naturally Progressive

A VAT Revenue Simulation Model for Tax Reform in Developing Countries

The Economic Opportunity Cost of Capital for Canada - An Empirical Update

Measuring the Non-Neutralities of Sales and Excise Taxes in Canada

Taxation and Economic Development in Taiwan