Taxation, unemployment and working time in models of economic growth

Abstract

This paper combines collective bargaining over wages and working time with models of endogenous and neoclassical growth. Public expenditure is funded by taxes on capital and labour supplied by infinitely-lived households in a closed economy. Taxes on labour are generally inefficient in both growth models, there is a “dynamic Laffer Curve”, and employment is increased by a reduction of working hours below the collective bargaining level – except in the case of a monopoly union. Although growth is maximised by competitive (efficient) hours, welfare-optimal working time is below the collective bargain when union are ‘too weak’, and vice-versa.