Kristian Stamp Hedeager forsvarer sin ph.d.-afhandling
Kristian Stamp Hedeager forsvarer sin ph.d.-afhandling :"Essays in Empirical Microeconomics"
Kandidat
Kristian Stamp Hedeager
Titel:"Essays in Empirical Microeconomics"
Tid og sted: 16. december 2020 kl. 14:00. Link til at logge på overværelse af forsvaret følger her:https://ucph-ku.zoom.us/j/9536476672
Det vil være muligt før forsvaret at få tilsendt en udgave af afhandlingen ved henvendelse til charlotte.jespersen@econ.ku.dk
Bedømmelsesudvalg
- Professsor Søren Leth, Økonomisk Institut, Københavns Universitet, Danmark (formand)
- Professor Kaisa Kotakorp, Tampere University, Finland
- Associate Professor Rune Majlund Vejlin
Abstract
Chapter 1: Using Real-time Verification of Self-reported Information to Reduce Tax Evasion.
The first chapter, co-authored with Peer Skov, studies the effect of real-time verification of taxpayer information on over-reporting of personal income tax deductions. Audit evidence shows that tax evasion disproportionally exists among self-reported income and deductions. We study a new approach to validate self-reported tax information. From 2013 the Danish tax administration (SKAT) introduced an online reporting module for taxpayers self-reporting deductions for child support and alimony payments. The module combines information from public birth and marriage registers to validate the claimants’ entitlement in real time. Using full population tax administration data, we show the 2013 introduction caused a 6% drop in the number of self-reported deductions and a 5% reduction in the value of claims on the intensive margin. The decrease in deductions for child support and alimony payments was not off-set by an increase in other deductions and therefore lead to an increase in tax revenue. The awareness of the large tax gap for self-reported income has caused tax administrations to increase the use of third-party information but not all tax items have a natural third-party. Our results show that as tax administrations move towards tax e-filing, the combination of online tax reporting and existing public registries opens a new avenue to reduce evasion from self-reported information.
Chapter 2: The Effect of Garnishment on Individual Income: Evidence from Denmark.
Most OECD countries use garnishments to collect government debts by deducting a share of a debtors' income directly at its source, but empirical evidence on how this practice affects labor market decisions is scarce. The second chapter studies individual income responses to garnishment in Denmark using an event-study approach combined with detailed administrative income data at the monthly frequency. I find that after 12 to 18 months in garnishment, individuals on average increase after-tax incomes by 2%. By defining individual recovery rates as the response in after-tax income relative to the individual-specific size of garnishment, I find that individuals regain on average 40 to 50% of the loss they incur through garnishment. The response is highest for individuals with relatively low garnishment rates. Individuals with very high garnishment rates seem to decrease incomes, but this effect is not statistically significant. I confirm that the income response can be interpreted as an increase in labor supply by documenting a significant increase in the number of hours worked in months following the initial garnishment.
Chapter 3: Education Spillovers within the Workplace,
The third chapter, which is co-authored with Jakob R. Munch and Georg Schaur, studies the impact of higher education on co-workers' wages. Education policies depend in part on the presence of externalities, but very little evidence exists to confirm the existence of such externalities. In this study we investigate if there are spillover effects from education within peer groups at the workplace. We estimate the effect of increasing the share of higher educated workers in close peer groups on wages, using a rich data source linking workers to workplaces and specific occupations. Our empirical approach accounts for the endogenous sorting of workers into peer groups and workplaces, and, at the same time avoids the reflection problem. In our main specification we find statistically significant but economically small peer effects across all occupations. The magnitude of the effect differs across length and type of education, as well as across occupations and peer group- and workplace size.
For at overvære ph.d.-forsvaret, se venligst link: https://ucph-ku.zoom.us/j/9536476672