Are user fees really regressive?

Arbeitspapier

This paper studies the aggregate and distributional implications of introducing user fees for publicly provided excludable public goods into a model with consumption and income taxes. The setup is a neoclassical growth model where agents differ in earnings and second-best policy is chosen by a Ramsey government. Our main result is that the adoption of user fees by the Ramsey government not only increases aggregate efficiency, but it also decreases inequality. This result is in contrast to common view and policy practice.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CESifo Working Paper ; No. 3875

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Publicly Provided Goods: General ; Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue: General ; Welfare Economics: General
• Subject: user fees ; Ramsey taxation ; efficiency ; inequality ; Gebühr ; Öffentliches Gut ; Ramsey-Preis ; Optimale Besteuerung ; Wirtschaftliche Effizienz ; Verteilungswirkung ; Theorie

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Economides, George ; Philippopoulos, Apostolis
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)
• (where): Munich
• (when): 2012

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/61048
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET