On the Desirability of Taxing Capital Income in Optimal Social Insurance

This paper analyzes optimal linear taxes on labor income and savings in a two-period life cycle model with ex ante identical households, endogenous leisure demands in both periods, and general processes of skill shocks over the life cycle. We demonstrate that the Atkinson-Stiglitz theorem breaks down under risk. Capital taxes are employed besides labor income taxes for two distinct reasons: i) capital taxes reduce labor supply distortions on second-period labor supply, since second-period labor supply and saving are substitutes, ii) capital taxes insure first-period income risk, although this benefit is partially off-set because first-period labor supply and saving are complements. Our results imply that (retirement) saving should not be actuarially fair.Optimal Capital Taxation, Risk, Atkinson-Stiglitz theorem

Construction and Import of Ethnic Categorisations: “Allochthones” in The Netherlands and Belgium

Schematically one can distinguish two traditions related to ethnic statistics in Europe. In France, Germany and most southern European countries, the dominant statistical categorisations merely distinguish individuals on the basis of their nationality. In contrast, most northern European countries have been producing data on the ethnic and/or foreign origin of their populations. Belgium is caught somewhere in between these two traditions. The French speaking part of Belgium tends to follow the French tradition of refusing ethnic categorisation, while the Flemish (the Dutch speaking part) try to copy the Dutch model in distinguishing “allochthones” and “autochthones”. This contribution wants to offer an analysis of the construction of ethnic categories as it has been undertaken in the Dutch context. It equally wants to shed light on how the category of “allochthones” has been (partially) imported into the Belgian context and what the consequences are.Ethnic Categorisation, Statistics, “Allochthones”, the Netherlands, Belgium

Photon-Photon Interactions in Dynamically Coupled Cavities

We study theoretically the interaction between two photons in a nonlinear cavity. The photons are loaded into the cavity via a method we propose here, in which the input/output coupling of the cavity is effectively controlled via a tunable coupling to a second cavity mode that is itself strongly output-coupled. Incoming photon wave packets can be loaded into the cavity with high fidelity when the timescale of the control is smaller than the duration of the wave packets. Dynamically coupled cavities can be used to avoid limitations in the photon-photon interaction time set by the delay-bandwidth product of passive cavities. Additionally, they enable the elimination of wave packet distortions caused by dispersive cavity transmission and reflection. We consider three kinds of nonlinearities, those arising from $\chi^{\scriptscriptstyle(2)}$ and $\chi^{\scriptscriptstyle(3)}$ materials and that due to an interaction with a two-level emitter. To analyze the input and output of few-photon wave packets we use a Schr\"odinger-picture formalism in which travelling-wave fields are discretized into infinitesimal time-bins. We suggest that dynamically coupled cavities provide a very useful tool for improving the performance of quantum devices relying on cavity-enhanced light-matter interactions such as single-photon sources and atom-like quantum memories with photon interfaces. As an example, we present simulation results showing that high fidelity two-qubit entangling gates may be constructed using any of the considered nonlinear interactions

Flandes: pedra de toc de la identitat

Flandes gaudeix de poders de regulació cada vegada més amplis, però la tendència és a reclamar-ne més. L’interès se centra més en la integració cultural que no pas en els drets civils dels nouvinguts. Malgrat les restriccions d'entrada i les xifres relativament baixes d'immigració, la xenofòbia dels ciutadans i les actituds de rebuig van en augment

Optimal Taxation of Risky Human Capital

In a model with ex-ante homogenous households, earnings risk and a general earnings function, we derive the optimal linear labor tax rate and optimal linear education subsidies. The optimal income tax trades off social insurance against incentives to work and to invest in human capital. Education subsidies are not used for social insurance, but are only targeted at off-setting the distortions of the labor tax and internalizing a fiscal externality. Both optimal education subsidies and tax rates increase if labor and education are more complementary, since education subsidies indirectly lower labor tax distortions by stimulating labor supply. Optimal education subsidies (taxes) also correct non-tax distortions arising from missing insurance markets. Education subsidies internalize a positive (negative) fiscal externality if there is underinvestment (overinvestment) in education due to risk. Education policy unambiguously allows for more social insurance if education is a risky activity. However, if education hedges against labor market risk, optimal tax rates could be lower than without education subsidies.labor taxation, human capital investment, education subsidies, idiosyncratic risk, risk properties of human capital

Chapter 8 Categorising What We Study and What We Analyse, and the Exercise of Interpretation

A lot of qualitative researchers have a healthy wariness about straightforward categorisation and modelling endeavours undertaken by quantitative researchers. Too often, variables and measurements are too rigid in quantitative analysis to take stock of all the complexity and context-dependency of human behaviour, attitudes and identities. In the worst-case scenario for migration studies, this leads to oversimplification, essentialisation and culturalism. In line with King et al. (1994), I would, however, in this chapter, like to plead for qualitative researchers to take into account that, in terms of challenges of validity and reliability, we have a lot to learn from each other. Acknowledging that qualitative research has its distinctive advantages (Brady and Collier 2004), I will argue that choices in categorisation, case selection and research design are of crucial importance, perhaps even more in qualitative studies than in quantitative studies, even if in both methodological traditions we are confronted with similar challenges. Being transparent and reflecting on the consequences of our choices of categorisation, analysis and interpretation is of crucial importance. It is too easy to think that qualitative research would, by definition, be better equipped in doing justice to the phenomena we wish to study in the field of migration, especially if our research focusses on migrants

Alive and Kicking? Multiculturalism in Flanders

Flanders, the Flemish part of Belgium, is in mid-2004 still embracing the idea of multiculturalism – the recognition and protection of immigrants as distinct ethnic groups – while this idea is in crisis in the neighbouring country of the Netherlands from where it was imported. Two reasons can be cited to explain the survival of multiculturalism in the region. First of all, the transformation of the Flemish political landscape, in which issues pertaining to immigrant incorporation are of central importance, accounts for the resilience of the idea and practice of multiculturalism in Flemish policy-making. In addition, the multicultural model has been able to survive due to the intertwining of issues linked to immigrant incorporation on the one hand, and multinational politics on the other, in the context of the Brussels- Capital Region

Dobivanje državljanstva stanovništva stranog podrijetla u Nizozemskoj

This contribution looks into the access to citizenship of the population of foreign origin in the Netherlands. It is meant as an introduction for outsiders on the Dutch nationality legislation and a source for some basic recent figures on the foreign population in the Netherlands. A round up is made of the legislation on attribution and acquisition of the Dutch nationality and numbers related to the different procedures of acquisition of Dutch state citizenship are provided. Since this possibility exists for the Netherlands due to qualified data, the numerical importance of the overall population of foreign origin – who are called “allochthones” in the Netherlands – is assessed.Članak istražuje dobivanje državljanstva stanovništva stranog podrijetla u Nizozemskoj. Cilj mu je upoznati neupućene sa zakonskim odredbama o stjecanju državljanstva i dati neke osnovne podatke o stranoj populaciji u Nizozemskoj. Daje se pregled zakonskih propisa o dodjeli i stjecanju nizozemskog državljanstva kao i podaci koji se odnose na različite postupke dobivanja nizozemskog državljanstva. Budući da za Nizozemsku postoji takva mogućnost, ocjenjuje se pouzdanost i važnost podataka o stanovnicima stranog podrijetla u Nizozemskoj, koji se u toj zemlji zovu alohtonima

Brussels youth: between diversity and adversity: survey of secondary school students in downtown Brussels

Brussels is a city which is highly segmented on both the social as the cultural level. This diversity is also reflected among the youth. In this article we present the results of a survey undertaken among the last year students of the francophone schools of the city of Brussels. The survey, which focusses on life styles, racism and insecurity, confirms the multifaceted character of the Brussels youth. Important sources of diversity and division are social background, ethnic origin and school choice. Our findings attest that the relations amongst young people are built on identities that are rooted in references to socio-economic class and ethnic origin, while their intensity varies with the type of education. The ethnicisation of the young people’s social relations seems to be very widespread. The survey attests to a paradox: racist insults are quite common, and are not only oriented towards ethnic minorities, but at the same time almost everyone supports the dominant antiracist discourse

The end of national models? Integration courses and citizenship trajectories in Europe

Several European countries have recently introduced, or are planning to introduce, citizenship trajectories (voluntary or obligatory inclusion programmes for recent immigrants) or citizen integration tests (tests one should pass to be able to acquire permanent residence or state citizenship). Authors such as Joppke claim that this is an articulation of a more general shift towards the logic of assimilation (and away from a multicultural agenda) in integration policy paradigms of European states. Integration policies would even be converging in such a fashion that it would no longer make sense to think in terms of national models for immigrant integration. The empirical fact of diffusion of civic integration policies throughout Europe cannot be denied. This paper claims that there is, however, still sufficient distinctiveness between immigrant integration policies in order to continue and use an analytical framework that distinguishes national models