1. Les aides fédérales peuvent-elle pallier les effets de la compétition sociale ?
- Author
-
Jean Hindriks, Jacques H. Dreze, Charles Figuieres, Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), Laboratoire Montpelliérain d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée (LAMETA), Université Montpellier 1 (UM1)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), and Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)
- Subjects
Economic integration ,Economics and Econometrics ,Geography, Planning and Development ,fiscal federalism ,adjustment process ,matching grants ,social competition ,fiscalité ,Economies et finances ,Competition model ,Willingness to pay ,Complete information ,0502 economics and business ,Economics ,050207 economics ,050205 econometrics ,Public economics ,JEL: H - Public Economics/H.H2 - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue/H.H2.H23 - Externalities • Redistributive Effects • Environmental Taxes and Subsidies ,05 social sciences ,JEL: H - Public Economics/H.H7 - State and Local Government • Intergovernmental Relations/H.H7.H70 - General ,Redistribution (cultural anthropology) ,[SHS.ECO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Economics and Finance ,Economies and finances ,Turnover ,Optimal allocation - Abstract
The European economic integration leads to increasing mobility of factors, thereby threatening the stability of social transfer programs. This article investigates the possibility to achieve by means of voluntary matching grants both the optimal allocation of factors and the optimal level of redistribution in the presence of factor mobility. We use a fiscal competition model a la Wildasin (1991) in which states differ in their technologies and preferences for redistribution. We first investigate a simple process in which the federal authority progressively raises the matching grants to the district choosing the lowest transfer and all districts respond optimally to the resulting change in transfers all around. This process is shown to increase efficiency of both production and redistribution. However, it does not guarantee that all districts gain, nor that an efficient level of redistribution is attained. Assuming complete information among districts, we derive the willingness of each district to match the contribution of other districts and we show that the aggregate willingness to pay for matching rates converges to zero when both the efficient level of redistribution and the efficient allocation of factors are achieved. We then describe an adjustment process for the matching rates that will lead districts to the efficient outcome and guarantee that everyone will gain. (JEL Classification: H23, H70) Copyright , Oxford University Press.
- Published
- 2008