Vertical and Horizontal Redistribution : The Cases of Western and Eastern Europe

European countries have the world's most redistributive tax and transfer systems. Although they have been well equipped to deal with vertical inequality -- that is, fostering redistribution from the rich to the poor -- less is known about...

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Main Authors: Bussolo, Maurizio, Krolage, Carla, Makovec, Mattia, Peichl, Andreas, Stockli, Marc, Torre, Ivan, Wittneben, Christian
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/375081543509025568/Vertical-and-Horizontal-Redistribution-The-Cases-of-Western-and-Eastern-Europe
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30930
id okr-10986-30930
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-309302021-06-08T14:42:45Z Vertical and Horizontal Redistribution : The Cases of Western and Eastern Europe Bussolo, Maurizio Krolage, Carla Makovec, Mattia Peichl, Andreas Stockli, Marc Torre, Ivan Wittneben, Christian INEQUALITY INCOME DISTRIBUTION TAXATION TRANSFERS INCIDENCE ANALYSIS VERTICAL INEQUALITY HORIZONTAL INEQUALITY REDISTRIBUTION European countries have the world's most redistributive tax and transfer systems. Although they have been well equipped to deal with vertical inequality -- that is, fostering redistribution from the rich to the poor -- less is known about their performance in dealing with horizontal inequality, that is, in redistributing among socioeconomic groups. In a context where individuals may not only care about vertical redistribution, but also about the economic situation of the specific groups to which they belong, the horizontal dimension of redistribution becomes politically salient and can be a source of social tensions. This paper analyzes the performance of the 28 EU countries on redistribution across (i) age groups, (ii) occupational groups, and (iii) household types over 2007–2014 using counterfactual simulation techniques. The analysis finds a great degree of heterogeneity across countries: changes in the tax and transfer system have particularly hit the young and losers of occupational change in Eastern European countries, while households with greater economic security have benefited from these changes. The findings suggest that horizontal inequality is a dimension that policy makers should take into account when reforming tax and transfer systems. 2018-12-03T22:26:17Z 2018-12-03T22:26:17Z 2018-11 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/375081543509025568/Vertical-and-Horizontal-Redistribution-The-Cases-of-Western-and-Eastern-Europe http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30930 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8657 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research Europe and Central Asia Eastern Europe European Union
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic INEQUALITY
INCOME DISTRIBUTION
TAXATION
TRANSFERS
INCIDENCE ANALYSIS
VERTICAL INEQUALITY
HORIZONTAL INEQUALITY
REDISTRIBUTION
spellingShingle INEQUALITY
INCOME DISTRIBUTION
TAXATION
TRANSFERS
INCIDENCE ANALYSIS
VERTICAL INEQUALITY
HORIZONTAL INEQUALITY
REDISTRIBUTION
Bussolo, Maurizio
Krolage, Carla
Makovec, Mattia
Peichl, Andreas
Stockli, Marc
Torre, Ivan
Wittneben, Christian
Vertical and Horizontal Redistribution : The Cases of Western and Eastern Europe
geographic_facet Europe and Central Asia
Eastern Europe
European Union
relation Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8657
description European countries have the world's most redistributive tax and transfer systems. Although they have been well equipped to deal with vertical inequality -- that is, fostering redistribution from the rich to the poor -- less is known about their performance in dealing with horizontal inequality, that is, in redistributing among socioeconomic groups. In a context where individuals may not only care about vertical redistribution, but also about the economic situation of the specific groups to which they belong, the horizontal dimension of redistribution becomes politically salient and can be a source of social tensions. This paper analyzes the performance of the 28 EU countries on redistribution across (i) age groups, (ii) occupational groups, and (iii) household types over 2007–2014 using counterfactual simulation techniques. The analysis finds a great degree of heterogeneity across countries: changes in the tax and transfer system have particularly hit the young and losers of occupational change in Eastern European countries, while households with greater economic security have benefited from these changes. The findings suggest that horizontal inequality is a dimension that policy makers should take into account when reforming tax and transfer systems.
format Working Paper
author Bussolo, Maurizio
Krolage, Carla
Makovec, Mattia
Peichl, Andreas
Stockli, Marc
Torre, Ivan
Wittneben, Christian
author_facet Bussolo, Maurizio
Krolage, Carla
Makovec, Mattia
Peichl, Andreas
Stockli, Marc
Torre, Ivan
Wittneben, Christian
author_sort Bussolo, Maurizio
title Vertical and Horizontal Redistribution : The Cases of Western and Eastern Europe
title_short Vertical and Horizontal Redistribution : The Cases of Western and Eastern Europe
title_full Vertical and Horizontal Redistribution : The Cases of Western and Eastern Europe
title_fullStr Vertical and Horizontal Redistribution : The Cases of Western and Eastern Europe
title_full_unstemmed Vertical and Horizontal Redistribution : The Cases of Western and Eastern Europe
title_sort vertical and horizontal redistribution : the cases of western and eastern europe
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2018
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/375081543509025568/Vertical-and-Horizontal-Redistribution-The-Cases-of-Western-and-Eastern-Europe
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30930
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