Optimal Nonlinear Income Taxes in an Overlapping Generations Model

Abstract

This study develops an income tax competition framework in an overlapping generations economy and examines the economic impact of labor market integration. With two types of labor possessing varied ability levels and a perfectly mobile capital stock, local governments compete for labor and choose the optimal income taxes to maximize social welfare. We demonstrate that public goods can be either over- or under-provided and discuss the equity and efficiency of the optimal policy rules under a nonlinear income taxation scheme. Further, we compare the equilibrium to linear taxation and demonstrate that nonlinear taxation is not necessarily more “equal” or “effective” than linear taxation. Moreover, we compare the equilibrium to that of the classic static model, and find that the nonlinear optimal tax rates could be above or below the first-best tax level in both dynamic and static models, while the public goods can be either over- or under-provided in the dynamic framework but are always under-provided in the static framework.

Keywords: Labor Market Integration, Income Tax Competition, Nonlinear Income Tax, Overlapping Generations

JEL Classification: H21, H24, F22