Gender Based Taxation and the Division of Family Chores

54 Pages Posted: 23 May 2008

See all articles by Alberto F. Alesina

Alberto F. Alesina

Harvard University - Department of Economics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Andrea Ichino

University of Bologna

Loukas Karabarbounis

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Abstract

Gender Based Taxation (GBT) satisfies Ramsey's optimal criterion by taxing less the more elastic labor supply of (married) women. This holds when different elasticities between men and women are taken as exogenous and primitive. But in this paper we also explore differences in gender elasticities which emerge endogenously in a model in which spouses bargain over the allocation of home duties. GBT changes spouses' implicit bargaining power and induces a more balanced allocation of house work and working opportunities between males and females. Because of decreasing returns to specialization in home and market work, social welfare improves by taxing conditional on gender. When income sharing within the family is substantial, both spouses may gain from GBT.

Keywords: optimal taxation, economics of gender, family economics, elasticity of labor supply

JEL Classification: D13, H21, J16, J20

Suggested Citation

Alesina, Alberto F. and Ichino, Andrea and Karabarbounis, Loukas, Gender Based Taxation and the Division of Family Chores. IZA Working Paper No. 3233, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1136395 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1136395

Alberto F. Alesina (Contact Author)

Harvard University - Department of Economics ( email )

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Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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Andrea Ichino

University of Bologna ( email )

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Loukas Karabarbounis

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

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