A theoretical and practical study on linear reforms of dual taxes

We extend the linear reforms introduced by Pf¨ahler (1984) to the case of dual taxes. We study the relative effect that linear dual tax cuts have on the inequality of income distribution -a symmetrical study can be made for dual linear tax hikes-. We also introduce measures of the degree of progressivity for dual taxes and show that they can be connected to the Lorenz dominance criterion. Additionally, we study the tax liability elasticity of each of the reforms proposed. Finally, by means of a microsimulation model and a considerably large data set of taxpayers drawn from 2004 Spanish Income Tax Return population, 1) we compare different yield-equivalent tax cuts applied to the Spanish dual income tax and 2) we investigate how much income redistribution the dual tax reform (Act ‘35/2006’) introduced with respect to the previous tax.

Government information transparency

This paper studies a model of announcements by a privately informed government about the future state of the economic activity in an economy subject to recurrent shocks and with distortions due to income taxation. Although transparent communication would ex ante be desirable, we find that even a benevolent government may ex-post be non-informative, in an attempt to countervail the tax distortion with a "second best" compensating distortion in information. This result provides a rationale for independent national statistical offices, committed to truthful communication. We also find that whether inequality in income distribution favors or harms government transparency depends on labor supply elasticity.

Redistributive taxation, public expenditure, and size of governent

We introduce a model of redistributive income taxation and public expenditure. This joint treatment permits analyzing the interdependencies between the two policies: one cannot be chosen independently of the other. Empirical evidence reveals that partisan confrontation essentially falls on expenditure policies rather than on income taxation. We examine the case in which the expenditure policy (or the size of government) is chosen by majority voting and income taxation is consistently adjusted. This adjustment consists of designing the income tax schedule that, given the expenditure policy, achieves consensus among the population. The model determines the consensus in- come tax schedule, the composition of public expenditure and the size of government. The main results are that inequality is negatively related to the size of government and to the pro-rich bias in public expenditure, and positively or negatively related to the marginal income tax, depending on substitutability between government supplied and market goods. These implications are validated using OECD data.

Work values, endogenous sentiments and redistribution

We examine the interactions between individual behavior, sentiments and the social contract in a model of rational voting over redistribution. Agents have moral "work values". Individuals' self-esteem and social consideration of others are endogenously determined comparing behaviors to moral standards. Attitudes toward redistribution depend on self-interest and social preferences. We characterize the politico-economic equilibria in which sentiments, labor supply and redistribution are determined simultaneously. The equilibria feature different degrees of "social cohesion" and redistribution depending on pre-tax income inequality. In clustered equilibria the poor are held partly responsible for their low income since they work less than the moral standard and hence redistribution is low. The paper proposes a novel explanation for the emergence of different sentiments and social contracts across countries. The predictions appear broadly in line with well-documented differences between the United States and Europe.

The ‘Dragon’ and the ‘Elephant’ and Global Imbalances

Global financial imbalances receive a great deal of attention in relation to the emerging economies China and India. This chapter analyzes this relation, but argues first that they are actually re-balancing the existing structural inequality in the world economy, in which for so long only the Western economies and Japan dominated economic growth and international trade, moving towards a more multi-polar world economy. China in particular, with its rapid export-led growth, has indeed been part and parcel of the emerging financial imbalances, feeding the ‘over-consumption’ in the US and using its accumulating international reserves in buying US-treasury bonds. Finance therefore is moving to the economy that ‘least needs it’. This imbalance can only be redressed if the US (and some of the other OECD countries) start saving more and consuming less (and become more competitive), with China further stimulating domestic demand (which it already did in response to the crisis). China and to a lesser extend India, as emerging large economies and a more important roles in global markets, also contribute to new imbalances, such as the influence of the insatiable appetite for resources (carbon-hydrates, minerals and bio-mass) of these relatively energy-inefficient economies, while at the same time attracting an increasing share of FDI towards them. The chapter finally raises the issue that these three mentioned imbalances make it more difficult for developing countries (except for those who are resource-rich) to get access to the necessary development finance.

The Impact of democratization: a preliminary investigation on social policies and political violence in Latin America

The recent strides of democracy in Latin America have been associated to conflicting outcomes. The expectation that democracy would bring about peace and prosperity have been only partly satisfied. While political violence has been by and large eradicated from the sub-continent, poverty and social injustice still prevail and hold sway. Our study argues that democracy matters for inequality through the growing strength of center left and left parties and by making political leaders in general more responsive to the underprivileged. Furthermore, although the pension reforms recently enacted in the region generated overall regressive outcomes on income distribution, democratic countries still benefit from their political past: where democratic tradition was stronger, such outcomes have been milder. Democratic tradition and the specific ideological connotations of the parties in power, on the other hand, did not play an equally crucial role in securing lower levels of political violence: during the last wave of democratizations in Latin America, domestic peace was rather an outcome of political and social concessions to those in distress. In sum, together with other factors and especially economic ones, the reason why recent democratizations have provided domestic peace in most cases, but have been unable so far to solve the problem of poverty and inequality, is that democratic traditions in the subcontinent have been relatively weak and, more specifically, that this weakness has undermined the growth of left and progressive parties, acting as an obstacle to redistribution. Such weakness, on the other hand, has not prevented the drastic reduction of domestic political violence, since what mattered in this case was a combination of symbolic or material concessions and political agreements among powerful élites and counter-élites.

Republicanismo, servidumbre y servicio doméstico

En este trabajo se exploran los condicionantes sociológicos e institucionales del mercado del servicio doméstico en Europa. Para ello se trabajó, básicamente, en tres líneas de investigación que aun están en curso. La primera, consiste en una exploración filosófica republicana, histórica y jurídica de la familia y la empresa capitalistas como instituciones que tienen una raigambre histórica común –la antigua domus, donde se desarrollaban todas las actividades productivas y reproductivas y que se caracterizaba constitutivamente por relaciones de dominación entre el propietario de los medios de producción y todos aquéllos que dependían de éste para subsistir-. Bajo el capitalismo, la familia –entendida ya como el hombre, su mujer e hijos legítimos- se constituyó en una institución eminentemente privada y las actividades desarrolladas en su seno quedaron fuera de lo que se consideró trabajo susceptible de reconocimiento económico. En este sentido, la normativa que regula al servicio doméstico como una relación laboral de carácter “especial” es un reflejo de la desvalorización socioeconómica de que ha sido objeto el trabajo reproductivo y la asociación conceptual entre la “improductividad” del ama de casa y la empleada doméstica. En la segunda línea del trabajo se exploraron las variaciones cuantitativas del mercado del servicio doméstico en Europa, cuya trayectoria presenta una forma de U entre la década de 1880 y mediados de la década de 1990. También mediante el análisis de fuentes secundarias de datos se pudieron establecer las profundas diferencias regionales que ha comportado este resurgimiento del empleo en servicios domésticos y su peso dentro de la estructura de empleo de cada sociedad. Por último, en la tercera se indagó la fluctuación histórica y geográfica de la oferta de trabajadoras domésticas en Europa, que pasó de las migraciones internas a las internacionales, coincidiendo con periodos de fuerte desigualdad económica entre las zonas expulsoras y receptoras.

Territorial autonomy and self-determination conflicts: opportunity and willingness cases from Bolivia, Niger, and Thailand

The paradox of autonomy is about whether self-rule accommodates or exacerbates armed conflict. This study attempts to unpack the puzzle examining the effectiveness of territorial autonomy as a state response to self-determination conflicts throughout the world. It challenges the conflict-inducing features of autonomy arguing that territorial autonomy can mitigate armed conflict by channeling group grievances into peaceful forms of protest. Thus, this study aims at arriving at a comprehensive theory that identifies which factors are responsible for violent escalation of conflicts grounded in self-determination demands. By using the concepts of opportunity structures and willingness dimension, this study shows that conflict escalation only takes place when minorities with greater bargaining power vis-à-vis the center, in contexts of high levels of economic inequality within dyad, are mobilized around autonomy and separatist demands.

Del teatre líric a la cançó popular : construcció social a partir de la música en València (1900-1959)

El text que es mostra a continuació resumeix el treball realitzat en la primera fase de recerca del projecte titulat provisionalment "Del teatre líric a la cançó popular: construcció social a partir de la música en València (1900-1959)". Aquest treball ha tingut una durada de set mesos entre febrer i agost de 2009. El projecte pretén dibuixar les línies que uneixen teatre líric i cançó popular fent especial èmfasi en els mecanismes de creació d'identitat de gènere, que va envoltar tot aquest procés. Per aquests motius, la recerca está construïda sobre dos eixos: entrevistes amb les fonts orals i buidatge dels principals fons bibliogrífics per a l'estudi de les fonts primàries i secundàries del primer període analitzat (1931-1959), focalitzat en els pobles que envolten la ciutat de València. Les conclusions apunten cap a una clara vinculació entre teatre líric i cançó popular, així com la utilització dels esdeveniments musicals amb finalitats conformadores de rols socials per part de les institucions sociopolítiques. Les diferències entre fonts primàries i fonts orals assenyalen una naturalització de la desigualtat de gènere a través de la música que han arribat fins als nostres dies, per la qual cosa és necessari l'estudi i anàlisi de la memòria musical.

What are the causes of educational inequalities and of their evolution over time in Europe? Evidence from PISA

This paper provides evidence on the sources of differences in inequalities in educational scores in European Union member states, by decomposing them into their determining factors. Using PISA data from the 2000 and 2006 waves, the paper shows that inequalities emerge in all countries and in both period, but decreased in Germany, whilst they increased in France and Italy. Decomposition shows that educational inequalities do not only reflect background related inequality, but especially schools’ characteristics. The findings allow policy makers to target areas that may make a contribution in reducing educational inequalities.

Refined asymptotics for the subcritical Keller-Segel system and related functional inequalities

We analyze the rate of convergence towards self-similarity for the subcritical Keller-Segel system in the radially symmetric two-dimensional case and in the corresponding one-dimensional case for logarithmic interaction. We measure convergence in Wasserstein distance. The rate of convergence towards self-similarity does not degenerate as we approach the critical case. As a byproduct, we obtain a proof of the logarithmic Hardy-Littlewood-Sobolev inequality in the one dimensional and radially symmetric two dimensional case based on optimal transport arguments. In addition we prove that the onedimensional equation is a contraction with respect to Fourier distance in the subcritical case.

Regional value added in Italy over the long run (1891-2001): linking indirect estimates with official figures, and implications

This paper presents value added estimates for the Italian regions, in benchmark years from 1891 until 1951, which are linked to those from official figures available from 1971 in order to offer a long-term picture. Sources and methodology are documented and discussed, whilst regional activity rates and productivity are also presented and compared. Thus some questions are briefly reconsidered: the origins and extent of the north-south divide, the role of migration and regional policy in shaping the pattern of regional inequality, the importance of social capital, and the positioning of Italy in the international debate on regional convergence, where it stands out for the long run persistence of its disparities.

Cross-country polarisation in CO2 emissions per capita in the European Union: changes and explanatory factors

In this study, we analyse the degree of polarisation-a concept fundamentally different from that of inequality-in the international distribution of CO2 emissions per capita in the European Union. It is analytically relevant to examine the degree of instability inherent to a distribution and, in the analysed case, the likelihood that the distribution and its evolution will increase or decrease the chances of reaching an agreement. Two approaches were used to measure polarisation: the endogenous approach, in which countries are grouped according to their similarity in terms of emissions, and the exogenous approach, in which countries are grouped geographically. Our findings indicate a clear decrease in polarisation since the mid-1990s, which can essentially be explained by the fact that the different groups of countries have converged (i.e. antagonism among the CO2 emitters has decreased) as the contribution of energy intensity to between-group differences has decreased. This lower degree of polarisation in CO2 distribution suggests a situation more conducive to the possibility of reaching EU-wide agreements on the mitigation of CO2 emissions.

On the stability of the optimal value and the optimal set in optimization problems

The paper develops a stability theory for the optimal value and the optimal set mapping of optimization problems posed in a Banach space. The problems considered in this paper have an arbitrary number of inequality constraints involving lower semicontinuous (not necessarily convex) functions and one closed abstract constraint set. The considered perturbations lead to problems of the same type as the nominal one (with the same space of variables and the same number of constraints), where the abstract constraint set can also be perturbed. The spaces of functions involved in the problems (objective and constraints) are equipped with the metric of the uniform convergence on the bounded sets, meanwhile in the space of closed sets we consider, coherently, the Attouch-Wets topology. The paper examines, in a unified way, the lower and upper semicontinuity of the optimal value function, and the closedness, lower and upper semicontinuity (in the sense of Berge) of the optimal set mapping. This paper can be seen as a second part of the stability theory presented in [17], where we studied the stability of the feasible set mapping (completed here with the analysis of the Lipschitz-like property).

Ecomobilitat a Sitges: anàlisi de la situació actual i propostes de millora

La mobilitat urbana és una de les temàtiques més importants a les ciutats ja que convergeixen diversos aspectes a nivell social i ambiental. El present article es centra en el sistema de mobilitat de la ciutat de Sitges tot avaluant l’estat de la xarxa viària, el parc de vehicles, els sistemes de transport i els serveis bàsics actuals. En l’anàlisi socioambiental de les variables d’aquest àmbit, s’han detectat una sèrie de problemes com ara una distribució no equitativa dels serveis bàsics, desigualtat en la distribució de carrers vianalitzats i carrils bici i manca d’homogeneïtat en la distribució de pàrquings. Els resultats obtinguts permeten proposar una sèrie de millores en busca d’una mobilitat més sostenible. Millorar les parades de bus que no tenen sistema de marquesina per a protegir-les del fred i el sol, augmentar potencialment el carril bici desplegant-lo per carrers que no en tenen, desenvolupar campanyes per a fomentar l’ús de la bici i augmentar la presència de carrers d’exclusiu ús per a vianants.