taxation and the welfare state

spend it like beckham? inequality and redistribution in the uk, 1983-2004 (with andreas georgiadis)

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an empirical investigation of why the british population is less in favour of redistribution than it once was in spite of the rise in wage inequality

you can't always get what you want: the impact of the uk jobseeker's allowance

published, labour economics, 16, 239-250 download from journal download paper

jsa is widely perceived to have increase the job search activities of the unemployed. this paper argues that existing evidence on this is flawed and that there is no evidence of any impact. all jsa did was to move some people off the claimant count but they remained without work.

the incidence of uk housing benefit: evidence from the 1990s reforms (with steve gibbons)

published: journal of public economics, 2006, 90, 799-822 download discussion paper

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the uk system of housing benefit pays 100% of rent up to a certain limit for those with low incomes, and has become an increasingly important part of the welfare system. but does it benefit the tenants it sets out to help or do landlords pocket some of it. this paper uses changes in the system in the 1990s to estimate its incidence. results are mixed but there is some evidence of landlors receiving some of the benefit.

labour supply, search and taxes.

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theoretical paper investigating impact of tax system on employment in a search model where jobs are an earnings-hours package. some surprising results e.g. an increase in marginal tax rates may increase incentives to work.

wage-setting and the tax system: theory and evidence for the u.k. (with b.lockwood).

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shows that a progressive tax system would be expected to reduce wage pressure and hence the equilibrium unemployment rate