Is There Scope for Gains from Revenue-Neutral Labor Tax Reforms with Flexible Outsourcing?

34 Pages Posted: 2 Mar 2009

See all articles by Erkki Koskela

Erkki Koskela

University of Helsinki - Department of Political and Economic Studies; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute); Bank of Finland - Research Department; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Panu Poutvaara

University of Helsinki - Department of Economics; Helsinki Center of Economic Research (HECER); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Abstract

We study the effects of revenue-neutral labor tax reforms in an imperfectly competitive domestic labor market under Nash wage bargaining and flexible outsourcing. A revenue-neutral increase in the wage tax progression will decrease the negotiated wage rate, increase domestic labor demand and decrease international outsourcing. In the presence of wage tax exemption, a lower payroll tax and a higher wage tax will increase domestic labor demand and decrease international outsourcing. The effect on the negotiated wage rate is positive with sufficiently strong labor market imperfections, and ambiguous with sufficiently weak labor market imperfections.

Keywords: flexible outsourcing, wage bargaining, employment, tax-revenue neutral labor tax reforms

JEL Classification: H11, H22, J41, J51

Suggested Citation

Koskela, Erkki and Poutvaara, Panu, Is There Scope for Gains from Revenue-Neutral Labor Tax Reforms with Flexible Outsourcing?. IZA Discussion Paper No. 3984, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1351148 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1351148

Erkki Koskela (Contact Author)

University of Helsinki - Department of Political and Economic Studies ( email )

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Bank of Finland - Research Department ( email )

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IZA Institute of Labor Economics

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Panu Poutvaara

University of Helsinki - Department of Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 54
FIN-00014 Helsinki
Finland

HOME PAGE: http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/blogs/poutvaar/

Helsinki Center of Economic Research (HECER) ( email )

FI-00014 Helsinki
Finland

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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