Citation

Discussion Paper Details

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Title: Taxes, Benefits, and Careers: Complete Versus Incomplete Markets

Author(s): Lars Ljungqvist and Thomas J Sargent

Publication Date: November 2007

Keyword(s): benefits, career, complete markets, employment lotteries, human capital, incomplete markets, indivisible labour, labour supply elasticity, retirement and taxes

Programme Area(s): International Macroeconomics

Abstract: An incomplete markets life-cycle model with indivisible labour makes career lengths and human capital accumulation respond to labour tax rates and government supplied non-employment benefits. We compare aggregate and individual outcomes in this individualistic incomplete markets model with those in a comparable collectivist representative family with employment lotteries and complete insurance markets. The incomplete and complete market structures assign leisure to different types of individuals who are distinguished by their human capital and age. These microeconomic differences distinguish the two models in terms of how macroeconomic aggregates respond to some types of government supplied non-employment benefits, but remarkably, not to labor tax changes.

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Bibliographic Reference

Ljungqvist, L and Sargent, T. 2007. 'Taxes, Benefits, and Careers: Complete Versus Incomplete Markets'. London, Centre for Economic Policy Research. https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=6560