Showing papers by "Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs published in 2003"

Multinationals' location choice, agglomeration economies and public incentives

Abstract: We study the regional location of multidimensionals in Ireland since the 1970s by focusing on the role played by agglomeration economies and public incentives intent on dispersing industrial activity to the more disadvantaged areas of Ireland. We find that regional policy has only been effective in attracting low-tech firms to the disadvantaged areas during the time when there was a much more laissez-faire approach to regional policy and when the primary industrial policy emphasis was on attracting hi-tech firms into Ireland in general. Our results also show that hi-tech firms spread more evenly across the country and that urbanization economies were for these firms a more important locational determinant than public incentives.

Some Equity and Efficiency Considerations of International Tax Competition

Abstract: The paper uses a dynamic 2-country equilibrium model with imperfections in the labour market calibrated for the US and EU economy to investigate dynamic efficiency and equity aspects of international tax competition. We focus on tax policy where governments can only decide on the levels of corporate and labour taxes, given a constant share of government consumption and transfers in GDP and a constant VAT rate. We find that the welfare effect of a tax shift from capital to labour depends heavily on the distortionary nature of labour taxes. In contrast to existing results we find substantial positive international spillover effects of corporate tax reduction in one country, with long term gains outweighing short term losses. Results are very different, however, if one goes beyond the representative agent framework. According to our results, a tax switch is most likely not Pareto improving since net wages tend to decline in both regions even in the long run.