Positive vs Normative Analysis in Public Economics
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Questions and Answers

What is a common limitation of traditional theoretical models in economics?

  • They rely on well-identified empirical estimators
  • They often provide strong predictions that are difficult to test empirically
  • They make weak predictions that are not always accurate (correct)
  • They implement numerical simulations with no assumptions
  • Which approach relies on robust formulas that can be implemented using empirical estimators like difference-in-differences and IV?

  • Recent work in economics (correct)
  • Traditional theoretical models
  • Numerical simulations
  • Behavioral economics
  • What technique is NOT mentioned as one of the empirical estimators used in the recent work mentioned in the text?

  • Regression discontinuity
  • Difference-in-differences
  • Difference-in-similarities (correct)
  • Instrumental variables (IV)
  • What course is specifically recommended for students interested in the approaches mentioned in the text?

    <p>Causal Analysis</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a significant advantage of recent work that connects theory to data, as mentioned in the text?

    <p>It offers well-identified empirical estimators for implementation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary benefit of Big Data discussed in the text?

    <p>Higher quality information with virtually no missing data or attrition</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How has the recent availability of very large datasets impacted research in applied microeconomics?

    <p>Enabled the development of new research designs and the measurement of new variables</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of behavioral economics, what does 'eliciting the people’s view' refer to?

    <p>Considering public sentiment when designing economic policies</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key aspect of behavioral public economics as discussed in the text?

    <p>Emphasis on understanding and influencing individual behaviors for policy design</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does Big Data enable researchers to connect theory to data effectively?

    <p>By providing the ability to measure new variables such as non-market interactions and emotions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the text suggest about responses that appear consistent with optimization in the aggregate?

    <p>They may hide deviations from optimization at the individual level.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How successful are standard policy tools suggested by neoclassical theory in increasing savings rates?

    <p>Not very successful, as they induce only a small group of individuals to respond.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the focus of the new strand of research mentioned in the text that uses large-scale online surveys and experiments?

    <p>Understanding how people form perceptions and beliefs</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which study is mentioned in the text as an example of the research using large-scale online surveys and experiments?

    <p>Stantcheva (2021), 'Understanding Tax Policy: How do people Reason?'</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the research by Ferrario & Stantcheva (2022) focus on?

    <p>Eliciting people's first-order concerns through text analysis of open-ended survey questions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one of the ways behavioral economics influences public policy according to the text?

    <p>By changing default options</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How can behavioral features like inertia and inattention improve predictions about policy effects?

    <p>By creating better counterfactuals for policy impacts</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of behavioral public economics, what is the relationship between decision utility and experienced utility?

    <p>Accounting for these gaps improves predictions about welfare consequences</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the pragmatic approach to behavioral public economics differ from the neoclassical model?

    <p>It incorporates behavioral factors to improve empirical predictions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was one specific tax-related change discussed in the text as an example of behavioral public economics?

    <p>Decreasing tax deductions for capital pension contributions for high-income individuals</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main goal of the unsupervised clustering machine learning algorithm used in the study?

    <p>Assign respondents to specific policy groups</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of the study, what factors contribute to the income tax policy index?

    <p>Opinion on whether progressive taxation reduces inequality and supports social programs</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What aspect of tax policy does the study emphasize in relation to respondents' views?

    <p>Social preferences and behavioral responses</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How are respondents grouped based on the latent Dirichlet allocation algorithm?

    <p>By their responses and frequency patterns</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the underlying goal of constructing the policy index in the study?

    <p>To capture support for progressive taxes and government intervention in reducing inequality</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary focus of normative analysis in public economics?

    <p>Theoretical aspects</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of public economics, what is the key role of positive analysis?

    <p>Empirical predictions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does modern public economics integrate theory with empirical evidence?

    <p>By deriving quantitative predictions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key skill set required for applied public economics according to the text?

    <p>Modern econometric tools understanding</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What characterizes the methodology of public economics in the current context?

    <p>Empirical evidence-based approach</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one of the elements included in the survey background socioeconomic questions?

    <p>Main source of news and political orientation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the survey, how do respondents classify themselves in terms of their views on economic policy?

    <p>Ranging from 'very conservative' to 'very liberal'</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What kind of information was provided to a randomly chosen subsample of respondents in the survey?

    <p>One of three versions of an instructional video about tax policy</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What do respondents in the survey reason about in more detail?

    <p>How tax policy works</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are respondents asked to consider regarding tax policy in the survey?

    <p>Behavioral responses, efficiency effects, and effects on the broader economy</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one of the knowledge areas that respondents are tested on in the survey?

    <p>Level of top federal taxes</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What do respondents consider when evaluating the distributional consequences for different groups in the survey?

    <p>'Fairness concerns and distributional consequences'</p> Signup and view all the answers

    'Connecting Theory to Data' refers to what aspect in the context of behavioral public economics?

    <p>'Connecting experimental data to theoretical frameworks'</p> Signup and view all the answers

    'Data-driven approach' in behavioral public economics emphasizes what core principle?

    <p>'Decision-making informed by empirical data'</p> Signup and view all the answers

    'Role of the Government' in behavioral public economics focuses on what aspect?

    <p>'Government intervention and regulation'</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the average percentage of National Income collected in taxes by governments in advanced economies?

    <p>35-50%</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the two main areas funded by taxes in advanced economies?

    <p>Public goods and welfare state</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why do humans reveal their social nature according to the text?

    <p>Through the size and design of their 'governments' (informal and formal)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the three main questions posed in the introduction of the text?

    <ol> <li>When should the government intervene in the economy? 2. What is the effect of those interventions on economic outcomes? 3. Why do governments choose to intervene in the way that they do?</li> </ol> Signup and view all the answers

    What are social interactions critical for according to the text?

    <p>Humans</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the focus of the study of Public Economics according to the text?

    <p>Role of the government in the economy</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the text suggest about replacing social institutions with markets?

    <p>Does not always work</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What limits the full understanding of public economics according to the text?

    <p>Narrow-minded view of individual behavior</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the direct effects of government interventions?

    <p>Effects that would be predicted if individuals did not change their behavior in response to the interventions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the indirect effects of government interventions?

    <p>Effects that arise because individuals change their behavior in response to the interventions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the 2nd Welfare Theorem about?

    <p>It states that any Pareto efficient outcome can be reached by suitable redistribution of initial endowments.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the role of Political Economy in government interventions?

    <p>It explains how the political process produces decisions that affect individuals and the economy.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Explain the concept of Public Choice in the context of government interventions.

    <p>Public Choice is a sub-field of political economy that focuses on government failures, situations where the government does not act in the benefit of society.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the equity-efficiency trade-off created by redistribution?

    <p>Redistribution through tax and transfer systems can create a trade-off between equity (fairness) and efficiency.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do governments intervene to address individual failures?

    <p>Governments may intervene by implementing policies such as corrective taxation to address individual failures.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why do governments estimate indirect effects of interventions?

    <p>Governments estimate indirect effects to understand how individuals may change their behavior in response to interventions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key finding from the analysis mentioned in the text?

    <p>Responses that appear consistent with optimization may mask significant deviations at the individual level</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main challenge faced by standard policy tools according to the text?

    <p>They are not very successful in increasing savings rates</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the focus of the new strand of research using large-scale online surveys and experiments?

    <p>Understanding how people form perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which study is mentioned as an example of research using large-scale online surveys and experiments in the text?

    <p>Stantcheva (2021), “Understanding Tax Policy: How do people Reason?”, QJE</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key aspect of behavioral public economics as discussed in the text?

    <p>Eliciting the people’s view</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What do large-scale online surveys and experiments aim to uncover?

    <p>How people think and how their views on economic and social policies emerge</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do responses that appear to be consistent with optimization at the aggregate level differ at the individual level?

    <p>They may mask significant deviations from optimization at the individual level</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a common limitation of standard policy tools suggested by neoclassical theory?

    <p>They induce only a small group of individuals to respond</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the three domains in which the implications of behavioral economics for public policy can be classified?

    <p>New policy tools, Better predictions, New welfare implications</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the two types of tax-deferred savings accounts in Denmark discussed in the example by Chetty et al. (2014)?

    <p>Capital pensions and annuity pensions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the specific tax deduction change made in 1999 for individuals in the top income tax bracket in Denmark, as mentioned in the text?

    <p>Reduced from 59% to 45%</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In what year was the tax deduction for contributing to capital pension accounts reduced for individuals in the top income tax bracket in Denmark?

    <p>1999</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the concept that accounts for the gap between welfare from a policy maker’s perspective and the agent’s decision utility in behavioral economics?

    <p>Experienced utility</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term used to describe the objective that an agent maximizes when making choices in behavioral economics?

    <p>Decision utility</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What approach in public economics focuses on a policy question and integrates behavioral factors to enhance empirical predictions and policy decisions?

    <p>Pragmatic approach</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the benchmark for most economic applications despite the incorporation of insights from psychology into economic models?

    <p>Neoclassical model</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the debate about behavioral economics often framed as, questioning the foundational assumptions of neoclassical economics?

    <p>Are individuals rational? Do they optimize in market settings?</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are some of the elements included in the survey background socioeconomic questions?

    <p>Highest level of education achieved, main source of news, political orientation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do respondents classify themselves in terms of their views on economic policy in the survey?

    <p>From 'very conservative' to 'very liberal'</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What kind of information was provided to a randomly chosen subsample of respondents in the survey?

    <p>One of three versions of an instructional video providing information about tax policy</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are some of the knowledge areas that respondents are tested on in the survey?

    <p>Level of top federal taxes, threshold for top income tax bracket, top tax rates in the 1950s, and more</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What do respondents reason about in more detail in the survey?

    <p>How tax policy works, behavioral responses, efficiency effects, distributional consequences, and fairness concerns</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the key role of positive analysis in public economics?

    <p>To describe and predict economic phenomena</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the relationship between decision utility and experienced utility in behavioral public economics?

    <p>They often diverge due to behavioral biases</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one way behavioral economics influences public policy according to the text?

    <p>By considering real-world behavioral factors in policy design</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of tax incidence, what does an ad-valorem tax refer to?

    <p>A tax that is a fraction of the prices</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the price elasticity of supply (εS) based on in the partial equilibrium model?

    <p>Supply function S</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the equilibrium condition Q = S(p) = D(p + t) define?

    <p>Pre-tax price p as a function of tax t</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the formula for tax incidence in the partial equilibrium model, what does dq dp εS = 1+ represent?

    <p>Incidence on consumers</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How is the incidence on consumers calculated in the partial equilibrium model?

    <p>(dq/dp)εS = 1+</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the concavity of the production function signify in terms of tax incidence?

    <p>Increasing marginal cost of producing x</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the price elasticity of demand (εD) reveal about demand behavior?

    <p>Customers' responsiveness to price changes</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In tax incidence, how is the effect of a tax on price characterized?

    <p>By characterizing dp/dt</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does differentiating the equilibrium condition help determine in the partial equilibrium model?

    <p>Price elasticity of supply εS</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How are consumers' preferences reflected in determining demand in the partial equilibrium model?

    <p>Through wealth Z and utility functions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of tax was the sales tax on gas discussed in the example?

    <p>Excise tax</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the method used to compare treated states with neighboring states in the example?

    <p>Difference-in-Difference estimation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In which state was the sales tax on gas suspended due to an energy emergency in the example?

    <p>Indiana</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What aspect of the gas prices suggests that the reinstatement of the sales tax was not tied to market conditions?

    <p>Gas price fall in September</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What change occurred on October 30 in relation to the gas sales tax in Indiana?

    <p>Reinstatement of tax</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What percentage of the gas price was subject to sales tax in Illinois according to the example?

    <p>~80%</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why were excise taxes not affected by the moratorium on the sales tax, according to the example?

    <p>Different tax category</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What principle did the study by Doyle and Samphantharak (2008) aim to identify concerning gas taxes?

    <p>'Tax Incidence'</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary focus of tax incidence studies?

    <p>Analyzing the effects of tax policies on prices</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In tax incidence, what happens when prices are constant?

    <p>Economic and statutory incidence become equivalent</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the elasticity of demand with respect to price play a crucial role in?

    <p>Labor vs. capital taxation analysis</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In partial equilibrium incidence analysis, what does mobility of labor and capital impact?

    <p>The incidence of taxes on different factors of production</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key consideration when estimating tax incidence using difference-in-difference estimation?

    <p>Controlling for confounding variables that could influence outcomes</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the introduction of an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) impact market prices?

    <p>Has no direct impact on market prices</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a common misconception about tax changes and producer profits?

    <p>Tax increases always lead to higher profits for producers</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the elasticity of demand w.r.t. price indicate in tax incidence analysis?

    <p>Consumer sensitivity to price changes</p> Signup and view all the answers

    'Incidence' refers to the study of:

    <p>Effects of taxes on market participants</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the term 'salience effects' refer to in tax incidence studies?

    <p>Influence of tax visibility on market outcomes</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the estimated pass-through rate of a tax decrease based on the text?

    <p>Approximately 70%</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What range is the elasticity of demand thought to be in?

    <p>-0.1 to -0.6</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In empirical applications, what is the effect of a tax increase on prices?

    <p>Prices rise by about 4%</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What measure is used for relative incidence in the case of tax repeal in Indiana (IN)?

    <p>0.72</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What effect does an excise tax repeal have on the pass-through rate in Illinois (IL)?

    <p>Pass-through rate increases</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the elasticity of supply change with a pass-through rate of 0.7?

    <p>It increases</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of Hastings and Washington's study, what aspect of grocery store pricing is affected by food stamps subsidy?

    <p>Both retail and wholesale prices</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What motivates using scanner data from grocery stores in high-poverty areas and low-poverty areas?

    <p>To understand pricing behavior</p> Signup and view all the answers

    'Diff-in-Diff Results: Tax-Repeal' section implies which area has a higher relative incidence based on the measures provided?

    <p>Indiana (IN)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Based on the text, what effect does receiving food stamps at the beginning of the month have?

    <p>Increases demand at the beginning of the month</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What approach was used by Doyle and Samphantharak (2008) to estimate the effect of a gas tax moratorium on consumer behavior?

    <p>Difference-in-Difference estimation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What key factor suggests potential asymmetries in consumer response to changes in gas prices?

    <p>Fall and rise in price</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In tax incidence analysis, what does a sharp discontinuity at the time of tax repeal and reinstatement indicate?

    <p>Tax Incidence</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the term 'salient tax' refer to in the context of gas tax studies?

    <p>Taxes included in posted prices</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What empirical technique did Doyle and Samphantharak (2008) use to analyze the effects of a gas tax moratorium?

    <p>Difference-in-Difference estimation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What aspect of the gas tax study by Doyle and Samphantharak (2008) suggests that the reinstatement of the sales tax was not driven by market conditions?

    <p>Gas prices had already fallen before reinstatement</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the full-shifting of sales tax imply different price changes in Illinois and Indiana?

    <p>4.5% change in IL, 4% change in IN</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What key institutional background factor led to the suspension of the sales tax on gas in Illinois and Indiana?

    <p>Energy emergency declaration</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What estimation method was used by Doyle and Samphantharak (2008) to compare treated states with neighboring states in the gas tax study?

    <p>Difference-in-Difference</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the presence of quality differences in a product impact in terms of tax burden distribution?

    <p>Identification of potential asymmetries</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Explain the concept of tax incidence and its relevance in public economics.

    <p>Tax incidence is the study of the effects of tax policies on prices, which has implications for producer and consumer rents. It is crucial in understanding the impact of tax policies on market outcomes and welfare.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the difference between economic and statutory incidence of taxes.

    <p>Economic and statutory incidence are equivalent only when prices are constant. Economic incidence refers to the true burden of the tax, considering how prices adjust, while statutory incidence refers to who legally remits the tax.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main focus of partial equilibrium incidence analysis?

    <p>Partial equilibrium incidence analysis focuses on understanding the impact of tax policies on specific markets, considering how changes in prices affect consumer and producer behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do salience effects influence tax incidence?

    <p>Salience effects can impact consumer behavior and perception of taxes, leading to changes in demand elasticity and market outcomes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Provide an example of an empirical application of tax incidence.

    <p>An empirical application of tax incidence could involve studying the impact of increasing cigarette taxes on consumer behavior, producer profits, and government revenue.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the elasticity of demand affect tax incidence?

    <p>The elasticity of demand plays a crucial role in determining the incidence of a tax. Higher demand elasticity results in a greater burden on producers, while lower elasticity shifts the burden to consumers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Explain the graphical representation of tax incidence.

    <p>In a graphical representation, tax incidence is shown by analyzing how the tax burden is shared between producers and consumers through the price adjustment. The area between the supply and demand curves represents the deadweight loss caused by the tax.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do changes in production and utility functions influence tax incidence?

    <p>Changes in production and utility functions impact the supply and demand curves, altering the distribution of the tax burden between producers and consumers. This, in turn, affects market prices and welfare.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Discuss the role of tax incidence in policy evaluation.

    <p>Tax incidence serves as a crucial input in policy evaluation by providing insights into the distributional effects and efficiency of tax policies. It helps policymakers understand how taxes affect market outcomes and social welfare.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do tax salience effects affect price changes and market outcomes?

    <p>Tax salience effects can influence consumer behavior and perception of prices, leading to changes in demand elasticity and market equilibrium. These effects can impact the distribution of the tax burden between producers and consumers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Explain the concept of partial equilibrium incidence in tax analysis.

    <p>Partial equilibrium incidence in tax analysis focuses on analyzing the impact of taxes on specific goods while holding other factors constant.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the graphical examples used to build intuition in partial equilibrium tax analysis.

    <p>Graphical examples are used to visually represent how taxes impact supply, demand, and equilibrium prices in a market.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the formula for tax incidence in a partial equilibrium model and how is it derived?

    <p>The formula for tax incidence is dq/dp * εS = 1 + εD. It is derived by implicitly differentiating the equilibrium condition in tax analysis.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How is the effect of a tax on price characterized in partial equilibrium incidence analysis?

    <p>The effect of a tax on price is characterized by dp/dt, which represents the change in price due to the imposition of a tax.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Explain the concept of salience effects in tax analysis.

    <p>Salience effects refer to how the visibility or prominence of a tax influences consumer behavior and their perception of the tax burden.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does perfect competition influence the partial equilibrium model in tax analysis?

    <p>Perfect competition assumes that firms are price-taking, which means they cannot influence the market price of goods.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What role does the price elasticity of demand (εD) play in understanding tax effects?

    <p>The price elasticity of demand (εD) indicates how responsive consumers are to price changes, affecting the tax burden sharing.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How is the price elasticity of supply (εS) utilized in tax analysis?

    <p>The price elasticity of supply (εS) shows how sensitive producers are to price changes, influencing the tax burden distribution.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Explain the equilibrium condition in the partial equilibrium model of tax analysis.

    <p>The equilibrium condition states that the quantity demanded must equal the quantity supplied after accounting for taxes, determining the market price.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary goal of analyzing tax incidence in a partial equilibrium model?

    <p>The goal is to characterize the effect of a tax on price (dp/dt) and understand how taxes are distributed between consumers and producers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Explain how the pass-through rate of 0.7 relates to the supply elasticity range of 0.1 - 0.6.

    <p>A pass-through rate of 0.7 implies a supply elasticity in the range of 0.1 - 0.6.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the relationship between the supply elasticity and the pass-through rate in tax incidence analysis?

    <p>A higher pass-through rate indicates a lower supply elasticity, while a lower pass-through rate suggests a higher supply elasticity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Define what 'salience effects' refer to in tax incidence studies.

    <p>Salience effects in tax incidence studies refer to how the visibility or prominence of a tax influences its impact on consumer behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the concept of 'salience effects' impact consumer behavior in relation to taxes?

    <p>Salience effects influence consumer behavior by affecting how noticeable or prominent a tax is, thereby influencing consumer decision-making.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Explain the significance of using scanner data from high-poverty and low-poverty areas in studying the impact of food stamps on grocery store pricing.

    <p>Scanner data from different areas allows for a comparison of how food stamps affect pricing in locations with varying levels of poverty, providing insights into pricing behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the timing of food stamps arrival (e.g., first of the month) provide a unique opportunity to study consumer behavior in relation to grocery store pricing?

    <p>The timing variation allows researchers to investigate if there is a change in demand at the beginning of the month, potentially violating the permanent income hypothesis.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the elasticity of demand range from -0.05 to -0.25 suggest about consumer responsiveness to price changes?

    <p>The elasticity of demand range indicates that consumers are relatively unresponsive to price changes, with a decrease in quantity demanded not proportionate to price increases.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How is the pass-through rate of 0.7 related to the supply elasticity range in the context of tax incidence analysis?

    <p>A pass-through rate of 0.7 implies a supply elasticity between 0.1 and 0.6, reflecting how much of a tax decrease is passed on to consumers in the form of lower prices.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Explain the implications of the pass-through rate in tax incidence analysis for consumers.

    <p>A pass-through rate of 0.7 suggests that 70% of a tax decrease is reflected in lower prices for consumers, indicating how much they benefit from the tax reduction.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the difference-in-difference methodology help analyze the impact of a tax repeal on pricing behavior in different states?

    <p>The difference-in-difference approach allows for a comparison of pricing changes post-tax repeal in different states, providing insights into the relative incidence of the tax policy changes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Introduction to Public Economics

    • Public economics is the study of the role of the government in the economy.
    • The government is instrumental in many aspects of economic life, including:
      • Regulation
      • Taxation
      • Expenditures on public goods and welfare state

    Size of the Public Sector

    • The size of the public sector is significant, with governments collecting 35-50% of national income in taxes.
    • Public sector expenditures fund public goods (infrastructure, defense) and welfare state (retirement benefits, health care, income support).

    Role of the Government

    • The government intervenes in the economy due to:
      • Market failures (e.g., pollution)
      • Individual failures (e.g., myopic behavior)
      • Inequality and redistribution
    • The government's role can be seen as a corrective measure to address these issues.

    Behavioral Public Economics

    • Behavioral public economics incorporates insights from psychology into economic models to improve policy decisions.
    • The approach is pragmatic and policy-oriented, focusing on:
      • New policy tools (e.g., changing default options)
      • Better predictions about policy effects (e.g., incorporating behavioral features into neoclassical models)
      • New welfare implications (e.g., accounting for gaps between decision and experienced utility)

    Eliciting the People's View

    • Large-scale online surveys and experiments are used to understand how people think and form their views on economic and social policies.
    • Examples of research in this area include:
      • Kuziemko et al. (2015) on preferences for redistribution
      • Stantcheva (2021) on understanding tax policy and how people reason
      • Alesina et al. (2021) on immigration and redistribution
      • Ferrario & Stantcheva (2022) on eliciting people's first-order concerns through text analysis of open-ended survey questionsHere are the study notes:

    Background of Socioeconomic Questions

    • Socioeconomic questions include highest level of education achieved, main source of news, and political orientation
    • Political orientation classifies individuals as "very conservative" to "very liberal" and their political affiliation (Republican, Democrat, Independent, Other, Nonaffiliated)

    Knowledge of Tax Policy

    • Knowledge about tax policy includes:
      • Top federal taxes
      • Threshold for the top income tax bracket
      • Top tax rates in the 1950s
      • Share of households paying no income tax
      • Average tax rate for the median household or top household
      • Share of total income that goes to the top 1%
      • Occupational composition of the top 1% of earners

    Elements of Survey

    • Information treatment: a randomly chosen subsample of respondents was shown one of three versions of an instructional video that provided information about the policy
    • Eliciting people's views on understanding tax policy, including:
      • Behavioral responses
      • Efficiency effects
      • Effects on the broader economy
      • Distributional consequences for different groups
      • Fairness concerns

    Empirical Applications

    • Graphical analysis: effect of a tax increase (prices rose by about 4% in IN and IL)
    • Diff-in-Diff results: tax repeal in Indiana and Illinois
      • Estimated effects imply an approximately 70% pass-through rate
      • Elasticity of demand is thought to be in the range of -0.05 to -0.25
    • Hastings and Washington (2010): the first of the month effect on consumer behavior and store responses
      • Studying how food stamps subsidy affects grocery store pricing
      • Scanner data from several grocery stores in Nevada
    • Doyle and Samphantharak (2008): who bears the burden of the gas tax?
      • Studying the effects of a gas tax moratorium
      • Institutional background: election year in Indiana, exceptional gas prices, and a political desire to provide tax relief

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    Applied Public Economics PDF

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    Explore the differences between positive and normative analysis in public economics. Learn how to assess observed effects of government programs and interventions versus deciding on optimal policies. Understand the empirical nature of positive analysis and the theoretical frameworks of normative analysis.

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