Here artificial neural networks (ANNs) are employed for efficiency purposes. First, the main features of ANNs are presented. Then, common techniques of the efficiency literature are reviewed: parametric (deterministic and stochastic) and non-parametric (Data Envelopment Analysis [DEA] and Free...

We use a version of the neoclassical growth model economy to evaluate two revenue neutral flat-tax reforms. In the less progressive flat-tax reform the households face a 22 percent integrated flat tax and a labor income tax exemption of \$16,000 per household. In the more progressive flat-tax...

Heterogeneity between unemployed and employed individuals matters for optimal fiscal policy. This paper considers the consequences of such heterogeneity for the determination of optimal capital and income taxes in a model with matching frictions in the labor market. In line with a recent finding...

Over the years, optimal taxation has been extensively discussed, and a major focus has been on the question of whether the optimal capital income tax rate is zero in long-run equilibrium. This paper addresses this issue in the context of a model of vintage capital with technical change and the...

We argue that the fiscal policies adopted early in World War I by the U.K. were responsible for its poor economic performance during the interwar period. In September 1915, the U.K. embarked on a set of non-tax-smoothing policies collectively known as the McKenna rule. The key dictum of the...

This paper shows how to use optimal control theory to derive time-consistent optimal government policies in nonlinear dynamic general equilibrium models. It extends the insight of Cohen and Michel (1988), who showed that in _linear_ models time-consistent policies can be found by imposing a...

In this paper, we use an open economy DGE model (SIGMA) to assess the quantitative effects of fiscal shocks on the trade balance in the United States. We examine the effects of two alternative fiscal shocks: a rise in government consumption, and a reduction in the labor income tax rate. Our...

Homestead exemption is defined as the level of home equity that a household declaring bankruptcy can keep. This exemption level varies across states in the United States. As entreprenurial activities are risky, small business owners value the insurance the bankruptcy law provides. In their...

In this paper, we revisit the effects of government spending shocks on private aggregate consumption within an estimated New-Keynesian DSGE model of the euro area featuring non-Ricardian households and a relatively detailed fiscal policy set up. Employing Bayesian inference methods, we show that...

In this paper we analyse the monetary impact of alternative fiscal policy rules using the debt and deficit, both mentioned as measures of fiscal policy performance in the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP). We use a New Keynesian model, with distortionary taxation and an appropriately defined...