Collective models of labor supply with nonconvex budget sets and nonparticipation : a calibration approach.

We suggest a methodology to calibrate a collective model with household-specific bargaining rules and marriage-specific preferences that incorporate leisure externalities. The empirical identification relies on the assumption that some aspects of individual preferences remain the same after marriage, so that estimation on single individuals can be used. The procedure maps the complete Pareto frontier of each household in the dataset and we define alternative measures of a power index. The latter is then regressed on relevant bargaining factors, including a set of variables retracing the potential relative contributions of the spouses to household disposable income. In its capacity to handle complex budget sets and labor force participation decisions of both spouses, this framework allows the comparison of unitary and collective predictions of labor supply reactions and welfare changes entailed by fiscal reforms in a realistic setting (see Michal Myck et al., 2006; Denis Beninger et al., 2006).Collective model; Household labor supply; Intrahousehold allocations; Tax reform;

Does the representation of household behavior matter for welfare analysis of tax-benefit policies? : an introduction.

A widely shared intuition holds that individual control over money matters for the decision process within the household and the subsequent distribution of resources and welfare. As a consequence, there are good reasons to depart from the unitary model of the household and to explore the possibilities offered by models of the family accounting for several decision makers in the household and for the potential impact of tax reforms on the balance of power. This paper summarizes both the methodological and empirical findings presented in the next three papers of this special issue of the Review of the Economics of the Household. This series of contributions primarily entails a concrete comparison of the policy implications of the choice between the unitary and a particular multi-person representation: the collective representation. On the one hand, it suggests a methodology to implement the collective model of labor supply in a realistic context where participation is modeled together with working hours, and where the full tax-benefit system is accounted for. On the other hand, the empirical part relies on comprehensive simulations of tax reforms in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, and allows to quantify the distortions that may affect policy recommendations based on the unitary model.Collective model; Household labor supply; Intra household allocations; Tax reform;

The working familias tax credit and some European tax reforms in a collective setting.

A framework for simplified implementation of the collective model of labor supply decisions is presented in the context of fiscal reforms in the UK. Through its collective form the model accounts for the well known problem of distribution between wallet and purse, a broadly debated issue which has so far been impossible to model due to the limitations of the unitary model of household behavior. A calibrated data set is used to model the effects of introducing two forms of the Working Families’ Tax Credit. We also summarize results of estimations and calibrations obtained using the same methodology on data from five other European countries. The results underline the importance of taking account of the intrahousehold decision process and suggest that who receives government transfers does matter from the point of view of labor supply and welfare of household members. They also highlight the need for more research into models of household behavior.Collective models; Fiscal reforms; Household labor supply; Intrahousehold allocation;

Evaluating the move to a linear tax system in Germany and other European countries.

This paper proposes a comparison of the results of tax policy analysis obtained on the basis of unitary and collective representations of the household. We first generate labour supplies consistent with the collective rationality, by use of a model calibrated on microdata as described in Vermeulen et al. [Collective Models of Household Labor Supply with Nonconvex Budget Sets and Nonparticipation: A Calibration Approach (2006)]. A unitary model is then estimated on these collective data and unitary and collective responses to a tax reform are compared. We focus on the introduction of linear taxation in Germany. The exercise is replicated for other European countries and other topical reforms. Distortions due to the use of a unitary model turn out to be important in predicting labour supply adjustments, in the design of tax revenue neutral reforms, and in predicting a reform’s welfare implications.Household labour supply; Intrahousehold allocations; Tax reform;

Simultaneous SAXS-WAXS experiments on semi-crystalline polymers: Example of PA11 and its brill transition

This manuscript of the special issue “Microstructural Evolution and Mechanical Behavior of Semi-Crystalline Polymers” aims to show that Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) and Wide Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS) experiments performed simultaneously constitute a unique tool to obtain valuable information on the hierarchical structure of semi-crystalline polymers. These structural quantitative data are needed tomodel macroscopic properties of polymeric materials, for example their mechanical properties. To illustrate our point, we focus our study on the structure and morphology of polyamide 11. Through a simultaneous SAXS-WAXS experiment, we show that the absence of enthalpic signal in Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) is not synonymous with the absence of structural and morphological evolution with temperature. The case of a thermally activated crystal–crystal transition, the Brill transition, is particularly detailed. Through this SAXS-WAXS study, we show, among other points, and for the first time, that the periodicity of crystalline lamellae (LP) changes at the transition, probably due to a modification of the amorphous phase’s free volume at the Brill transition. We also explain the crucial role of annealing to stabilize polymeric materials that may experience temperature changes over their lifetime. The influence of the annealing on the perfection of crystalline structure, morphology and mechanical behavior is more particularly studied

Evaluating the move to a linear tax system in Germany and other European countries

This paper proposes a comparison of the results of tax policy analysis obtained on the basis of unitary and collective representations of the household. We first generate labour supplies consistent with the collective rationality, by use of a model calibrated on microdata as described in Vermeulen et al. [Collective Models of Household Labor Supply with Nonconvex Budget Sets and Nonparticipation: A Calibration Approach (2006)]. A unitary model is then estimated on these collective data and unitary and collective responses to a tax reform are compared. We focus on the introduction of linear taxation in Germany. The exercise is replicated for other European countries and other topical reforms. Distortions due to the use of a unitary model turn out to be important in predicting labour supply adjustments, in the design of tax revenue neutral reforms, and in predicting a reform’s welfare implications.Publicad

Unraveling the morphological diversity of P(VDF-ter-TrFE-ter-CTFE) semi-crystalline terpolymers via combined AFM and SAXS experiments

In this article, the diverse morphologies observed after annealing or crystallization from the melt in P(VDF-ter-TrFE-ter-CTFE) terpolymers with varying CTFE amounts were explained through a combination of AFM and SAXS experiments. The very significant and, so far, unexplained evolution of the SAXS spectra after annealing above the Curie transition was interpreted by the formation, during annealing, of semi-crystalline domains without a significant evolution of the crystalline lamellar period. The morphologies obtained after crystallization from the melt were also explained and the coexistence of two periodic stacks (with period around 30–40 nm and 14–18 nm) was shown. Low cooling rates and CTFE amounts create long and thick semi-crystalline domains with a well-defined orientation, while high cooling rates and CTFE amounts create thinner and shorter domains without a predominant orientation. The AFM images showed that the periodic organization of the crystalline lamellae with a period, LP, around 15 nm is maintained, regardless of the crystallization process used (solvent cast, annealed, or melt-crystallized). The combined AFM/SAXS method used in this study can be applied to other semi-crystalline polymers.ANR FETA Chaire Arkema/CNRS-ENSAM-Cna

Positive and normative analysis of tax policy: Does the representation of the household decision process Matter? Evidence for France. Paper presented at the EEA’02 meeting in

Abstract The burgeoning literature on collective models has recently focused on attempts to estimate such models of household behaviour. However, no simple econometric technique is available when accounting for participation decisions and tax-bene…t system leading to non-linear and possibly non-convex budget sets. This delays the use of collective models for policy recommendation purposes. Relying on cruder calibration techniques to …ll the gap is thus necessary. The paper …rst suggests a piecemeal approach to simulate labour supply using a collective model with taxation. The second contribution is to compare the predictions in term of policy analysis between the unitary and the collective models. The exercise consists in assessing a current French tax reform using a unitary model estimated on data generated by the collective one. The size of errors from the unitary model, both on positive and normative conclusions, suggests that more e¤ort should be devoted to the estimation and operationalization of collective models with taxation