Welfare-Improving Coordinated Tariff and Sales Tax Reforms Under Imperfect Competition


Book Description

This paper studies the welfare effects of coordinated domestic sales tax reform associated with a reduction of the import tariff under imperfect competition. We set up a simple oligopoly trading model where domestic and exporting firms compete in the home market. We show that, if the initial levels of import tariff and sales tax are positive, there always exist welfare-improving sales tax reforms. In some cases, a reduction of the sales tax accompanied by a reduction of the import tariff increases social welfare, whereas in other cases, raising the sales tax can increase social welfare.




Coordinating Tariff Reduction and Domestic Tax Reform


Book Description

A key obstacle to fundamental tariff reform in many developing countries is the revenue loss that it ultimately implies. This paper establishes a simple and practicable strategy for realizing the efficiency gains from tariff reform without reducing public revenues, showing that for a small open economy, a cut in tariffs combined with a point-for-point increase in domestic consumption taxes increases both welfare and public revenues. Increasingly stringent conditions are required, however, to ensure unambiguously beneficial outcomes from this reform strategy when allowance is made for such important features as nontradeable goods, intermediate inputs, and imperfect competition.







Coordinating Tariff Reduction and Domestic Tax Reform


Book Description

A key obstacle to fundamental tariff reform in many developing countries is the revenue loss that it ultimately implies. This paper establishes a simple and practicable strategy for realizing the efficiency gains from tariff reform without reducing public revenues, showing that for a small open economy, a cut in tariffs combined with a point-for-point increase in domestic consumption taxes increases both welfare and public revenues. Increasingly stringent conditions are required, however, to ensure unambiguously beneficial outcomes from this reform strategy when allowance is made for such important features as nontradeable goods, intermediate inputs, and imperfect competition.




A Win-Win-Win Tariff-Tax Reform Under Imperfect Competition


Book Description

Taking into account non-constant marginal costs, this paper considers the effects of a tariff cut combined with a consumption tax increase on welfare, government revenue, and market access. We show that welfare, government revenue, and market access can all improve with this policy reform under decreasing marginal costs. This result may provide a theoretical rationale for the above policy reform, which is guided by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.




Revenue-Enhancing Trade Liberalization in a Differentiated Duopoly


Book Description

Existing studies suggest that in developing countries, tax reforms that increase consumption taxes can compensate for shortfalls in revenue from a tariff reduction. However, these revenue-enhancing tariff-tax reforms have a critical shortcoming -- they generally reduce welfare under imperfect competition. This paper shows that tax reforms such as consumption tax reforms do not necessarily have to be implemented to make up for revenue shortfalls from tariff reductions under imperfect competition, because trade liberalization through tariff cuts leads to an increase in government revenue when domestic and imported goods have a high substitutability. This revenue-enhancing effect of a tariff reduction occurs for a wider degree of product substitutability when initial tariff and consumption tax rates are high. More importantly, we show that even if initial tariff and consumption tax rates are sufficiently low, a tariff reduction still increases government revenue for a low degree of product differentiation under Bertrand competition.




Recent Developments in Normative Trade Theory and Welfare Economics


Book Description

This volume examines important topical issues in normative trade theory and welfare economics. In particular, it seeks to investigate how far the potential gainfulness of international trade can be extended in an increasingly globalized world. The first section focuses on the gains from trade in the presence of time-consuming consumption and external increasing returns to scale, which are often neglected in traditional trade theory. The next section considers a range of issues that have practical and policy relevance, including trade liberalization, tax reform, tourism, and international migration. The last section examines the impact of income transfers, both from domestic and international perspectives, and of economic policy making. All chapters of the book are contributed by internationally well-known researchers, including Murray Kemp, Henry Wan, Ngo Van Long and some of Murray Kemp's many colleagues and former students around the world. This book, with its up-to-date information and analysis, will be essential to academics and graduate students in the field of international economics. Trade theorists in research institutions and practicing economists in governmental departments will also find this book of great interest. ​




International Trade, Economic Development, and the Vietnamese Economy


Book Description

This volume spotlights some of the most important economic issues confronting today's emerging developing countries. The topics studied in the book include the importance of productivity to economic growth, international trade and its relationship to productivity; immigration and brain drain; pollution havens, climate change, and the carbon tax; the effectiveness of foreign aid, the efficiency of education, and governance. Written by some of the most respected scholars in their respective fields, the individual chapters apply both economic theory and the most current empirical tools in rigorous but accessible exposition. Researchers can find value in the modeling and empirical techniques that can be applied to other countries and datasets. Policy makers can benefit from the intellectual foundation on which decisions on important issues can be based; and students of international trade, economic development, and environmental economics can gain knowledge of different country settings that give context to their fields of study.




Revenue Mobilization in Developing Countries


Book Description

The Fund has long played a lead role in supporting developing countries’ efforts to improve their revenue mobilization. This paper draws on that experience to review issues and good practice, and to assess prospects in this key area.




Tax Policy and Inclusive Growth


Book Description

This paper discusses the theory and practice of tax design to achieve an efficient and equitable outcome, i.e. in support of inclusive growth. It starts with a discussion of the key principles from tax theory to guide practical tax design. Then, it elaborates on more granular tax policy, discussing key choices in the structure of the personal income tax on labor and capital income, taxes on wealth, the corporate income tax, and consumption taxes. The paper concludes by highlighting the political economy considerations of the issues with concrete recommedtions as to how to implement tax reform.