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

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: INEQUALITY;    INCOME DISTRIBUTION;    TAXATION;    TRANSFERS;    INCIDENCE ANALYSIS;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-8657
RP-ID  :  WPS8657

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

European countries have theworld's most redistributive tax and transfersystems. Although they have been well equipped to deal withvertical inequality -- that is, fostering redistributionfrom the rich to the poor -- less is known about theirperformance in dealing with horizontal inequality, that is,in redistributing among socioeconomic groups. In a contextwhere individuals may not only care about verticalredistribution, but also about the economic situation of thespecific groups to which they belong, the horizontaldimension of redistribution becomes politically salient andcan be a source of social tensions. This paper analyzes theperformance of the 28 EU countries on redistribution across(i) age groups, (ii) occupational groups, and (iii)household types over 2007–2014 using counterfactualsimulation techniques. The analysis finds a great degree ofheterogeneity across countries: changes in the tax andtransfer system have particularly hit the young and losersof occupational change in Eastern European countries, whilehouseholds with greater economic security have benefitedfrom these changes. The findings suggest that horizontalinequality is a dimension that policy makers should takeinto account when reforming tax and transfer systems.