On the Analytics of the Dynamic Laffer Curve

In this paper, we analyze government budget balance within a simple model of endogenous growth. For the AK model, simple analytical conditions for a tax cut to be self-financing can be derived. The critical variable is not the tax rate per se, but the ?transfer-adjusted? tax rate. We discuss some conceptual issues in dynamic revenue analysis, and we explain why previous studies have arrived at seemingly contradictory results. Finally, we perform an empirical study of the transfer-adjusted tax rates of the OECD countries to see which country has the highest potential for fiscal improvements; it turns out that only a few countries have any potential for such ?dynamic scoring?.Laffer effects, intertemporal models, dynamic scoring, growth models

On the Analytics of the Dynamic Laffer Curve

In this paper, we analyze government budget balance within a simple model of endogenous growth. For the AK model, simple analytical conditions for a tax cut to be self-financing can be derived. The critical variable is not the tax rate per se, but the "transfer-adjusted tax rate". We discuss some conceptual issues in dynamic revenue analysis, and we explain why previous studies have arrived at seemingly contradictory results. Finally, we perform an empirical study of the transfer-adjusted tax rates of the OECD countries to see which country has the highest potential for fiscal improvements; it turns out that only a few countries have any potential for such "dynamic scoring".Laffer effects; intertemporal models; dynamic scoring; growth models

Bevolent Planners, Malevolent Dictators and Democratic Voters

We study the size of government and of GDP, under autocratic and democratic rule, respectively. It turns out that first, both democratic and authoritarian rulers apply the Samuelson (1954) criterion when deciding on productive public goods. Second, the labor supply elasticity and the skewness of the ability distribution determine whether democracy or autocracy will lead to the highest output. Third, when the ability distribution is sufficiently skewed, the democratic majority will behave like a rational autocrat, who chooses the tax rate that maximizes tax revenue. Fourth, population ageing in Western societies may lead to the policy preferred by a rational autocrat.Leviathan; democracy; median voter; redistribution; public goods

Tax Arbitrage and Labor Supply

We examine how tax avoidance in the form of trade in well-functioning asset markets affect the basic labor supply model. We show that tax arbitrage has potentially dramatic implications for positive, normative and econometric analysis of how taxes affect work incentives.labor suppy; progressive income taxation; tax arbitrage;

Labor Supply Prediction when Tax Avoidance Matters

We examine how tax avoidance in the form of trade in well-functioning asset markets affects the empirical study of labor supply. We discuss the implications for tax policy analysis, and we show that a failure to account for avoidance responses may lead to huge errors when predicting how tax reform affects labor supply tax revenue, and the welfare cost of taxation. In conclusion we argue that our model may explain a number of otherwise hard to understand dimensions of tax payer response.Labor supply; tax avoidance; asset markets; tax reform simulation

Strings as sigma models and in the tensionless limit

This thesis considers two different aspects of string theory, the tensionless limit of the string and supersymmetric sigma models. The tensionless limit is used to find a IIB supergravity background generated by a tensionless string. Quantization of the tensionless string in a pp-wave background is performed and the tensionless limit is found to commute with quantization. Further, the sigma model with N=(2,2) extended world-sheet supersymmetry is considered and the requirement on the target space to have a bi-Hermitean geometry is reviewed. It is shown that the equivalence between bi-Hermitean geometry and generalized Kahler follows, in this context, from the equivalence between the Lagrangian- and Hamiltonian formulation of the model. Moreover, the explicit T-duality transformation in the Hamiltonian formulation of the sigma model is constructed and shown to be a symplectomorphism. Under certain assumptions, the amount of extended supersymmetry present in the sigma model is shown to be preserved under T-duality. Further, by requiring N=(2,2) extended supersymmetry in a first order formulation of the sigma model an intriguing geometrical structure arises and in a special case generalized complex geometry is found to be contained in the new framework.Comment: PhD Thesis, viii+127 page

Labor Supply When Tax Avoidance Matters

We examine how tax avoidance in the form of trade in well-functioning asset markets affects the empirical study of labor supply. We discuss the implications for tax policy analysis, and we show that a failure to account for avoidance responses may lead to huge errors when predicting how tax reform affects labor supply, tax revenue, and the welfare cost of taxation. In conclusion we argue that our model may explain a number of otherwise hard to understand dimensions of tax payer response.Labour supply; Tax avoidance; Asset markets; Tax reform simulation