Benoît S. Y. Crutzen

Redistributive politics with distortionary taxation

We extend the discussion of redistributive politics across electoral systems to allow for taxation to be distortionary. We allow politicians to choose any tax rate between zero and unity and then redistribute the money collected. We build on the model put forward by Myerson (1993) and Lizzeri and Persico (2001 and 2005) to show that the use of distortionnary taxation can be understood as an analysis of the trade-off between efficiency and targetability. We derive the equilibrium taxes and redistribution schemes with distortions. We show that the presence of distortions makes full taxation unattractive. We also derive the size of the government, the deadweight loss and inequality as a function of distortions.

Confidence Management: On Interpersonal Comparisons in Teams

Organizations differ in the degree to which they differentiate employees by ability. We analyze how the effect of differentiation on employee morale may explain this variation. We characterize sufficient conditions for the manager to refrain from differentiation. She refrains from differentiation when employees are of similar ability, especially if absolute levels are high. Avoiding differentiation boosts the self-image of employees. To limit the negative effects of differentiation, the managers strategy often relies on the coarsest message set possible. The likelihood that the manager differentiates depends on the presence of synergies between employees and on the convexity of the cost of effort function. Finally, we show that in the absence of commitment no differentiation is chosen too often.