Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Nikos Tsakiris Author-Name: Panos Hatzipanayotou Author-Name: Michael S. Michael Title: Tradable Emission Permits and Strategic Capital Taxation Classification-JEL: F18, F21, H21 Keywords: Emission Permits; Cross-border Pollution; Capital Tax Competition; Capital Tax Rules Abstract: In a model of two large asymmetric countries, we examine the effectiveness of the non-cooperative setting of tradable emission permits in reducing global pollution, under different rules of international taxation of capital earnings. Our key result is that, under certain conditions, the lowest Nash equilibrium level of global pollution is achieved when the policy-mix combines internationally, rather than nationally, tradable emission permits and either capital-tax exemptions or capital-tax credits. Length: 18 pages Creation-Date: 2022-01-14 File-URL: http://papers.econ.ucy.ac.cy/RePEc/papers/01-2022.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ucy:cypeua:01-2022 Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Shaun P. Hargreaves Heap Author-Name: Emma Manifold Author-Name: Konstantinos Matakos Author-Name: Dimitrios Xefteris Title: How does group identification affect redistribution in representative democracies? An Experiment Classification-JEL: C91, D63, D72, D90 Keywords: Identity; Inequality; Redistribution; Minority Representation; Representative Democracy; Voting Experiment Abstract: We test in the laboratory four mechanisms whereby group identification might affect redistribution in representative democracies. For voters, group identification can give rise to a preference for own-group payoffs, for electing an own-group candidate, and could be used to assess candidate-sincerity. For candidates, identity might affect the optimal campaign platform. There is evidence to support all four. The influence of own-group pay-offs has been studied before, but the other mechanisms have not. These new mechanisms combine to make redistribution depend on a hitherto unrecognized factor: the political representation of the minority group. Length: 61 pages Creation-Date: 2022-02-02 File-URL: http://papers.econ.ucy.ac.cy/RePEc/papers/02-2022.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ucy:cypeua:02-2022 Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Panayiota Lyssiotou Author-Name: Ruzica Savcic Title: Parents' Time Allocation in Different Phases of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Evidence from the UK and Implications for Gender Equality Classification-JEL: D13, J16, J21, J22 Keywords: time allocation; COVID-19; gender equity; labour supply; housework; childcare Abstract: We exploit the changes in the distancing measures instituted by the UK government in the different phases of the pandemic to identify the impact on the daily lives of couples with children and gender equality within the household. We estimate a weighted tobit simultaneous system of market, housework and child care hours of parents and correct for possible endogeneity of the wages. We find that once the restrictive measures were lifted there was a significant increase in the hours of paid work and decrease in the hours of housework and childcare of both parents. The changes were not significantly different among the two parents. These findings confirm previous evidence that access to market childcare services increases the working hours of mothers. They also indicate that the initial pandemic shock did not eliminate pre-pandemic inequalities in the labour market and division of housework and childcare among parents with underage children. The evidence tends to suggest that changes in gender norms for more equality within the family are more likely to occur when the shock is enforced by law or has a long enough duration to change the behaviour of men and women and shape the norms of the next generation. Length: 33 pages Creation-Date: 2022-05-10 File-URL: http://papers.econ.ucy.ac.cy/RePEc/papers/03-2022.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ucy:cypeua:03-2022 Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Jon Eguia Author-Name: Dimitrios Xefteris Title: Lognormal (Re)Distribution: A Macrofounded Theory of Inequality Classification-JEL: D72, H20, E62 Keywords: Income inequality; redistribution; lognormal distribution; macrofoundations Abstract: We study how political competition over redistribution determines income inequality under two macrofounded premises: a) the income distribution is approximately log-normal before and after any policy intervention; and b) voters' income and turnout rates are positively related. The unique equilibrium features substantial income inequality and less than maximal redistribution, even if the voters' median income is very low. Fitting our model to the US economy, we argue that either the efficiency cost of redistribution is higher than estimates in the literature, or else US's redistributive policies are optimal for an agent richer than the median voter. Length: 19 pages Creation-Date: 2022-05-25 File-URL: http://papers.econ.ucy.ac.cy/RePEc/papers/04-2022.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ucy:cypeua:04-2022 Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Dimitrios Xefteris Author-Name: Nicholas Ziros Title: The 'Invisible Hand' of Vote Markets Classification-JEL: D72 Keywords: Electoral competition; invisible hand; vote markets; mid-range voter; Downsian model Abstract: This paper studies electoral competition between two non-ideological parties when voters are free to trade votes for money. We find that allowing for vote trading has significant policy consequences, even if trade does not actually take place in equilibrium. In particular, the parties' equilibrium platforms are found to converge (hence, there is no reason for vote trading) to the ideal policy of the mid-range voter, instead of converging to the peak of the median voter (as they do when vote trading is forbidden). That is, a market for votes may not change the outcome only by redistributing the political power among voters when the parties' policy proposals are fixed (e.g., Casella, Llorente-Saguer, and Palfrey, 2012, etc.), but also by acting as an invisible hand - modifying parties' incentives when platform choice is endogenous. Length: 15 pages Creation-Date: 2022-05-27 File-URL: http://papers.econ.ucy.ac.cy/RePEc/papers/05-2022.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ucy:cypeua:05-2022 Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Eleni Aristodemou Title: Strictly log-concave probability distributions in discrete response models Keywords: Discrete Response Models; Strict Log-Concavity Abstract: This paper extends the results of Prekopa (1973, 1980) on strictly log-concave cumulative distributions to strictly log-concave probability distributions. It is shown that if a random variable follows a strictly logarithmic concave distribution, then the probability that the random variable is contained within a convex polytope is also strictly logarithmic concave. This formal result can be useful for identification and estimation of a general class of linear-index discrete response models, where the additively separable unobservable follows a strictly log-concave distribution. Length: 16 pages Creation-Date: 2022-07-06 File-URL: http://papers.econ.ucy.ac.cy/RePEc/papers/06-2022.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ucy:cypeua:06-2022