Capital Income Taxation and Specialization Patterns: Investment Tax vs. Saving Tax

Unless free international lending/borrowing is allowed, domestic saving equals domestic investment and hence saving and investment taxes have the identical effect, as is the case in a closed-economy context. However, if it is allowed, households can accumulate foreign assets besides domestic capital and hence saving and investment are separated, causing the two taxes to have different effects. Using a two-sector growth model, we show that the two taxes generate completely different effects on industrial structure. The investment tax always shrinks the capital-intensive sector whereas the saving tax may well expand it.saving tax, investment tax, two-sector growth model, industrial structure, financial asset trade

Endogenous Growth and Fluctuations in an Overlapping Generations Economy with Credit Market Imperfections

We study the dynamic properties of growth rates in an overlapping generations economy with credit market imperfections. The analysis demonstrates that in early stages of financial development where credit constraints are severe, growth rates evolve monotonically. At the intermediate level of financial development, as the degree of credit market imperfections diminishes, growth rates exhibit endogenous fluctuations for some parameter values. However, as the financial sector matures, fluctuations disappear and the growth rates evolve once again monotonically.Credit market imperfections; Endogenous business fluctuations; Endogenous growth; Heterogeneous agents

Risk and Uncertainty in Health Investment

Extending the Grossman [12] model of health capital into a stochastic one, we analyze how the presence of Knightian uncertainty about the efficacy of health care affects the optimal health investment behavior of individuals. Using Gilboa and Schmeidler's [11] model of maxmin expected utility (MMEU) with multiple priors, we show that an agent retains the initial level of health capital if the price of health care lies within a certain range. We also show that the no-investment range expands as the degree of Knightian uncertainty rises.Health Investment, Risk, Uncertainty

"International and Intergenerational Aspects of Capital Income Taxation in an Endogenously Growing World Economy"

This paper discusses how capital income taxation affects economic growth and welfare in an endogenously growing world economy with perfect capital mobility and worldwide externalities. Worldwide ex-ternalities provide a mechanism for equalizing national growth rates even with different capital income tax rates. The welfare of future generations is more influenced by a change in the growth rate than by the international spillover effect which has been the primary concern of the previous studies. Moreover, our model finds intergenerational conflicts arising from the change in the growth rate caused by a change in the source tax rate of the foreign country.

Financial Globalization and Animal Spirits

Using a multi-country general equilibrium model, we demonstrate that when agents face credit constraints in an international financial market, rational expectations, which are ex-post heterogeneous between countries, cause business fluctuations. If the international financial market becomes perfect, only a unique perfect foresight equilibrium is obtained, implying that no business fluctuations appear.Business fluctuations; Financial globalization; Sunspots; Heterogeneous agents; Rational expectations

The Role of Expectations in a Specialization-driven Growth Model with Endogenous Technology Choice

Extending the Kim (1989) model of endogenous labor specialization to an overlapping generations model with an endogenous technology choice, we show in this paper that, when the market size and the fixed costs associated with the technologies with labor specialization are small, the growth pattern of this economy depends on worker expectations. In other words, if workers expect low returns of specific human capital, they will not invest in such capital, and the economy will be eventually locked in an underdevelopment trap. On the other hand, if they expect high returns of specific human capital, they invest in such capital, and, as a result, the economy can exhibit long-run growth.Labor specialization, endogenous choice of technology, endogenous growth, development traps

Capital Income Taxation and Specialization Patterns: Investment Tax vs. Saving Tax

Unless free international lending/borrowing is allowed, domestic saving equals domestic investment and hence saving and investment taxes have the identical effect, as is the case in a closed-economy context. However, if it is allowed, households can accumulate foreign assets besides domestic capital and hence saving and investment are separated, causing the two taxes to have different effects. Using a two-sector growth model, we show that the two taxes generate completely different effects on industrial structure. The investment tax always shrinks the capital-intensive sector whereas the saving tax may well expand it.

Collateral Constraints and Legal Protection of Lenders: A Macroeconomic Perspective

We identify countries that establish collateral-based lending systems with a small-open-economy version of Nobuhiro Kiyotaki and John Moore’s (1997) model. We find that 47 countries in 1980s and 48 countries in 1990s out of 98 countries establish collateral-based lending systems. We also investigate the origin of collateral-based lending systems and find that if a country offers good legal protection for lenders, then a collateral-based lending system is more likely to be embedded in that country.Credit constraints; Collateral-based lending; Legal protection of lenders; Kiyotaki-Moore model

Corruption, Globalization, and Economic Growth: Theory and Evidence

We investigate, both theoretically and empirically, how the negative effects of government corruption on economic growth are magnified or reduced by capital account liberalization. Our model shows that highly corrupt countries impose higher tax rates than do less corrupt countries, thereby, magnifying the negative impacts of government corruption on economic growth in the highly corrupt countries and reducing the impacts in the less corrupt countries if capital account liberalization is enacted. Empirical evidence obtained from an analysis of the panel data collected from 111 countries supports our theoretical predictions. Our theoretical and empirical results contribute to the recent policy debates on the merits or demerits of capital account liberalization.Economic growth; Government Corruption; Capital account liberalization; Two-country model

Finance and Inequality: How Does Globalization Change Their Relationship?

This research demonstrates that international financial integration changes the way in which financial development affects inequality within a country. Specifically, both the cross-country analysis and the dynamic panel data analysis using data collected from more than 100 countries provide evidence indicating that if the financial market of a country is highly open to the world market, financial development widens inequality within that country, whereas if the financial market of a country is highly closed to the world market, financial development narrows inequality within that country. Our theoretical framework provides a possible explanation for our empirical findings.Financial integration; Inequality; Financial development; Credit constraints; Capital flows