On Inflation as a Regressive Consumption Tax


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Progressive Consumption Taxation


Book Description

The authors observe that consumption taxation is superior to income taxation because it does not penalize saving and investment and propose that the U.S. income tax system be completely replaced by a progressive consumption tax. They argue that the X tax, developed by the late David Bradford, offers the best form of progressive consumption taxation for the United States and outline concrete proposals for the X tax's treatment of numerous specific economic issues.




The Distributional Implications of the Impact of Fuel Price Increases on Inflation


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This paper investigates the response of consumer price inflation to changes in domestic fuel prices, looking at the different categories of the overall consumer price index (CPI). We then combine household survey data with the CPI components to construct a CPI index for the poorest and richest income quintiles with the view to assess the distributional impact of the pass-through. To undertake this analysis, the paper provides an update to the Global Monthly Retail Fuel Price Database, expanding the product coverage to premium and regular fuels, the time dimension to December 2020, and the sample to 190 countries. Three key findings stand out. First, the response of inflation to gasoline price shocks is smaller, but more persistent and broad-based in developing economies than in advanced economies. Second, we show that past studies using crude oil prices instead of retail fuel prices to estimate the pass-through to inflation significantly underestimate it. Third, while the purchasing power of all households declines as fuel prices increase, the distributional impact is progressive. But the progressivity phases out within 6 months after the shock in advanced economies, whereas it persists beyond a year in developing countries.




Innocent Bystanders? Monetary Policy and Inequality in the U.S.


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We study the effects and historical contribution of monetary policy shocks to consumption and income inequality in the United States since 1980. Contractionary monetary policy actions systematically increase inequality in labor earnings, total income, consumption and total expenditures. Furthermore, monetary shocks can account for a significant component of the historical cyclical variation in income and consumption inequality. Using detailed micro-level data on income and consumption, we document the different channels via which monetary policy shocks affect inequality, as well as how these channels depend on the nature of the change in monetary policy.







Taxing the Poor


Book Description

"New South? Not really. A compelling demonstration that the South's regressive taxation wreaks so much havoc that the federal government has no choice but to swoop in at great cost and attempt to band-aid all the poverty and dysfunction. The best argument yet for a new federalism that says enough is enough."—David B. Grusky, Stanford University “Taxing the Poor makes extremely important points that are not now—but must be—part of the American discussion of poverty and social policy. The authors make these points with fascinating details on the history of how we got to this place. Bravo to Newman and O’Brien for thoroughly laying out a politcal economy of taxation.”—Robin Einhorn, author of American Taxation, American Slavery




Taxation of Petroleum Products


Book Description

The domestic taxation of petroleum products is an important source of revenue in most countries. However, there is a wide variation of tax rates on petroleum products across countries, which cannot be explained by economic theory alone. This paper surveys different considerations advanced for taxing petroleum and presents petroleum tax rate data in 120 countries. It concludes that a significant reduction in the present extremely wide variation in petroleum prices and tax rates appears warranted.




Brookings Papers on Economic Activity: Spring 2017


Book Description

Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA) provides academic and business economists, government officials, and members of the financial and business communities with timely research on current economic issues.




Inflation Theory in Economics


Book Description

These essays bring together a progression in monetary theory. The major theme that runs through all of the chapters is that in order to do monetary economics well in general equilibrium, it helps to have a good money demand underlying the theory. A proper underlying money demand sets up arguably the best foundation from which to make extensions of monetary economics from the basic model. At the same time that money demand is modelled, this also “endogenizes” the velocity of money. This has been a challenge in the literature that these essays solve and then use to extend basic neoclassical growth and business cycle theory. Solving this problem, in a way that is a natural, direct, and “micro-founded” extension of the standard monetary theory is the first major contribution of the collection. The second major contribution is the extension of the neoclassical monetary models, using this solution, to reinvigorate classic issues of monetary economics and take them to the frontier.




The X Tax in the World Economy


Book Description

This study explores how the tax design called the X tax could alleviate the complexities and avoidance opportunities plaguing the existing U.S. system for taxing international business income.




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