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Essays on unintended economic consequences of government interventions

  • In this cumulative dissertation, I investigate unintended economic consequences of government interventions in three essays, each looking at a very specific question. The first essay examines how the introduction and enhancement of public pension systems affect demography, the second essay focuses on tax evasion via citizenship-by-investment programs, and the third essay evaluates the diversion of foreign financial assistance by powerful elites from recipient countries. Despite the different research questions, all three essays evolve around the issue that actions of governments almost always create incentives causing unforeseen or unexpected behavioral responses. The first essay shows that increasing pension wealth creates incentives to save less for old-age in the form of own children, the second essay documents that policy instruments that increase the detection probability of tax evasion create incentives for evaders to find new ways to circumvent the law, and the third essay shows that foreign assistance creates rent-seekingIn this cumulative dissertation, I investigate unintended economic consequences of government interventions in three essays, each looking at a very specific question. The first essay examines how the introduction and enhancement of public pension systems affect demography, the second essay focuses on tax evasion via citizenship-by-investment programs, and the third essay evaluates the diversion of foreign financial assistance by powerful elites from recipient countries. Despite the different research questions, all three essays evolve around the issue that actions of governments almost always create incentives causing unforeseen or unexpected behavioral responses. The first essay shows that increasing pension wealth creates incentives to save less for old-age in the form of own children, the second essay documents that policy instruments that increase the detection probability of tax evasion create incentives for evaders to find new ways to circumvent the law, and the third essay shows that foreign assistance creates rent-seeking incentives. The results collected in the dissertation have implications for economic policy: Government interventions must be informed by an understanding of how well policies and programs produce (or contribute to) their desired outcomes. The results of all three essays presented in this thesis demonstrate that unforeseen or unexpected behavioral responses to government interventions can lead to economic outcomes or side effects that are divergent or contrary to the intentions of policymakers. These unintended economic consequences can significantly lessen the effectiveness of the policy or render it unsustainable. The first essay illustrates that the fertility effects of public pensions can erode the contribution base and, thus, the sustainability and political acceptance of a PAYG pension system in the long-run. The second essay shows that loopholes that have been found by evaders can lessen the deterrence effect of tax information exchange mechanisms, undermining their effectiveness to curb tax evasion. The third essay demonstrates that aid capture can prevent resources from being spent on their intended use, rendering foreign assistance less effective.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author:Zyska, Lennard
URN:urn:nbn:de:bvb:824-opus4-7876
Subtitle (English):[cumulative dissertation]
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Langenmayr, Dominika, Prof. Danzer, Alexander M.
Document Type:Doctoral thesis
Language of publication:English
Year of creation:2022
Date of first Publication:2022/12/22
Publishing Institution:Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
Awarding Institution:Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät
Date of final examination:2022/09/20
Release Date:2022/12/22
Tag:Demografie; Militärhilfe; Politikmaßnahmen; Renten; Steuerhinterziehung
U.S. defense and security aid; citizenship-by-investment; fertility; government interventions; offshore havens; old-age security hypothesis; pension wealth; rent-seeking; tax evasion; tax information exchange; unintended consequences
GND Keyword:Staat; Intervention; Unvorhergesehene Folge; Steuerwiderstand
Pagenumber:15 Seiten
Faculty:Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät
Dewey Decimal Classification:3 Sozialwissenschaften
JEL-Classification:D Microeconomics / D1 Household Behavior and Family Economics / D10 General
D Microeconomics / D7 Analysis of Collective Decision-Making / D73 Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
F International Economics / F3 International Finance / F35 Foreign Aid
H Public Economics / H2 Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue / H24 Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
H Public Economics / H2 Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue / H26 Tax Evasion
H Public Economics / H5 National Government Expenditures and Related Policies / H55 Social Security and Public Pensions
H Public Economics / H5 National Government Expenditures and Related Policies / H56 National Security and War
H Public Economics / H8 Miscellaneous Issues / H87 International Fiscal Issues; International Public Goods
I Health, Education, and Welfare / I3 Welfare and Poverty / I38 Government Policy; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
J Labor and Demographic Economics / J1 Demographic Economics / J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
K Law and Economics / K4 Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior / K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
License (German):License LogoKeine Lizenz - es gilt das deutsche Urheberrecht
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