We propose a new measure of allocative efficiency based on unrealized increases in aggregate productivity growth. We show that the difference in the value of the marginal product of an input and its marginal cost at any plant—the plant-input gap—is exactly equal to the change in aggregate...

We propose an industry-level index of capital resalability-the share of used capital in aggregate industry capital expenditure-that relates (inversely) to sunkenness of investments. Using data from U.S. manufacturing, we then test the effect of capital resalability on industry productivity...

We build a new concordance between the NBER Patent Data and U.S. Census microdata and use it to examine what happens when firms patent. We find strong evidence that increases in patent stock are associated with increases in firm size, scope, and skill and capital intensity. We find somewhat...

This paper uses data from tax returns that have been subject to intensive audits to confront the quantitative importance of misreporting for the estimated tax responsiveness of charitable contributions. It concludes that the tax responsiveness of charitable giving that has been detected using...

This paper examines data from U.S. federal tax returns to shed light on whether the timing of death is responsive to its tax consequences. We investigate the temporal pattern of deaths around the time of changes in the estate-tax system periods when living longer, or dying sooner, could...

The income of Puerto Rican affiliates of U.S. corporations is essentially untaxed by either Puerto Rico or the United States. This lowers the tax penalty on investment there, and also makes it attractive to shift reported taxable income from the U.S. parent corporation to the Puerto Rican...