The Household, Time Use and Tax Policy

This paper is concerned with modelling household decisions andthe welfare effects of tax policy. It seeks to emphasise theimportance of a model that incorporates household productionand can take account of the evident female labour supply heterogeneityacross two-parent families. If, after having children, someproportion of households substitute domestic for market laboursupply, the income and consumption variables used as the taxbase in most countries may be poorly correlated with livingstandards. Taxes and welfare programs based on these variablesmay increase inequality by shifting the overall tax burden tolow and middle wage families with both partners in work, awayfrom families with much higher wages and in which only one memberworks to earn the same joint market income. The paper combinesdata on time use, income, taxes and benefits to show how theytrack female labour supply over the life cycle, resulting inmuch higher tax burdens on two-earner households. (JEL D13,D91, H31, J22)     

Experimental socio-economic models of Europe

The work described here was carried out as part of a Study Contract sponsored by the European Commission, to examine the feasibility of constructing mathematical socio-economic models of regional issues in the European zone. The final model would include numerous economic and demographic variables, including representations of trade between the EEC and other regions of the world. This article discusses the main problems in constructing a final model and indicates its various possible forms.     

Estimating utility consistent labour supply functions: Some results on pooled budget data

Demand systems AIDS, LES are augmented to include labour supply and then estimated on pooled U.K. budget data allowing for time series and cross section variation in wages. The results point to the danger of constraining the labour supply curve a-priori by use of restrictive utility systems. In addition, hypothesis relating to effects of price/wage movements on composition of ‘full income’ are tested.     

The industrialization of space: Prospects and barriers

In the USA, and also in some Western European countries, there is noticeable business and government confidence in a larger, more productive role for private invetment in space applications. The industrialization of space is now a serious possibility. This paper examines the role of private interests in this field, explores how government can stimulate or assist private space ventures particularly through removing barriers to investment and offering incentives, and discussess the pros and cons of possible policy initiatives.     

Another Stick to Beat Teachers?

Dr Ray Robinson, of the University of Sussex, considers that the education voucher may be useful in, improving aspects of efficiency in the supply of education, but holds the proposals for its introduction to be untimely: the voucher has been presented as a measure to penalise bad teachers rather than as a stimulus to the good.