Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/58681 
Year of Publication: 
2011
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 6228
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We study the impact of tax and minimum wage reforms on the incidence of informality. To gauge the incidence of informality, we use measures of the extent of tax evasion, the extent of minimum wage non-compliance, and the size of the informal workforce. Our approach allows us to examine (i) the distinction between determinants of firm-level reported wage distribution and actual wage distribution, (ii) the complementarity of tax and minimum wage enforcement, (iii) the impact that a minimum wage reform has on tax and minimum wage compliance, and (iv) the impact that a tax policy reform has on tax and minimum wage compliance. We conclude with the design of optimal minimum wage and tax policies (even in the complete absence of minimum wage enforcement). We do so based on two objectives derived from popular concerns associated with an unchecked expansion of informality: tax revenue maximization, and poverty alleviation among workers.
Subjects: 
tax evasion
minimum wage reform
flat tax reform
poverty
informality
JEL: 
J3
J6
O17
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
589.91 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.