Redistribution in a joint income-wealth perspective: a cross-country comparison

[…] and wealth transfers. Second, we evaluate redistributive effects of tax-benefit systems against the joint income-wealth distribution instead of income only. We show that expressing living standards in terms of both income and wealth results in considerable reranking of individuals, which in turn leads to a lower redistributive impact of tax-benefit systems than is traditionally considered.

Smooth income tax schedules: derivation and consequences

[…] derive revenue-neutral parameters for four different types of tax regimes (Austria, Germany, Hungary and Spain). We then analyze possible implications from a hypothetical switch to smoother income tax tariffs. We find that smooth tax functions eliminate the most extreme cases of bracket creep, while the impact on income inequality is mostly negligible, but uniformly reducing.

Back on track: making the most of parents’ working lives

This report outlines the impact of parenthood on the work outcomes of mothers and fathers. Mothers face a long-term employment penalty, comprising shorter hours and lower hourly earnings. Fathers too struggle to balance their work responsibilities with caring for their family. Supporting parents back into work can help the economy tap into a skilled […]

The mommy effect: do women anticipate the employment effects of motherhood

[…] over this period. We propose a hypothesis to reconcile these two trends: that when they are making key human capital decisions, women in modern cohorts underestimate the impact of motherhood on their future labor supply. Using an event-study framework, we show substantial and persistent employment effects of motherhood in U.K. and U.S. data. We […]