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Work incentives at the extensive and intensive margin in Europe: the role of taxes, benefits and population characteristics

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  • Xavier Jara Tamayo, Holguer
  • Gasior, Katrin
  • Makovec, Mattia
Abstract
Tax and benefit systems play an important role in determining work incentives at both, the extensive and the intensive margin of labour supply. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive comparative analysis of work incentives in the EU. Our analysis makes use of microsimulation techniques and representative household surveys from all 28 EU countries to compare the distribution of short- and long-term participation tax rates and marginal effective tax rates across population subgroups. We focus on people currently in work and characterise the population facing low work incentives in each country. Our results highlight the large variation in the distribution of work incentives across EU countries, explained not only by differences in the design of tax-benefit systems, but also by the characteristics of the labour force across countries. Unemployment insurance benefits contribute substantially to short-term participation tax rates and explain on average 20 percentage point difference between work incentives of short- vs. long-term unemployment. Our analysis further highlights the need to use microdata to study differences across countries in terms of the population subgroups facing low incentives to work with the aim to inform the policy debate on potential reforms to make work pay.

Suggested Citation

  • Xavier Jara Tamayo, Holguer & Gasior, Katrin & Makovec, Mattia, 2019. "Work incentives at the extensive and intensive margin in Europe: the role of taxes, benefits and population characteristics," EUROMOD Working Papers EM19/19, EUROMOD at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:ese:emodwp:em19-19
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ive Marx; & Henri Haapanala; & Sarah Marchal;, 2024. "Well-BOA: Is poverty reduction in Europe doomed? Conjectures, facts and a cautiously optimistic conclusion," Working Papers 2403, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    3. Marx, Ive & Haapanala, Henri & Marchal, Sarah, 2024. "Is Poverty Reduction in Europe Doomed? Conjectures, Facts and a Cautiously Optimistic Conclusion," IZA Discussion Papers 16967, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Michael Christl & Silvia Poli, 2021. "Trapped in inactivity? Social assistance and labour supply in Austria," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 48(3), pages 661-696, August.
    5. Maximilian Joseph Blömer & Andreas Peichl, 2020. "Who Has an Incentive to Work? Participation Tax Rates of the German Tax-Transfer System," ifo Forschungsberichte, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 118.

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