Place-Based Redistribution

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Cecile Gaubert, University of California, Berkeley; Patrick Kline, University of California, Berkeley; Damian Vergara, University of Michigan; Danny Yagan, University of California, Berkeley

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
  R 08/08/2025 04:01:PM
  matlab 08/08/2025 04:03:PM
  stata 08/08/2025 04:12:PM
LICENSE text/plain 2.9 KB 08/08/2025 12:01:PM
ffpub20.csv text/csv 14.9 MB 03/24/2025 04:57:PM
readme.pdf application/pdf 211.5 KB 08/08/2025 12:01:PM

Project Citation: 

Gaubert, Cecile, Kline, Patrick, Vergara, Damian, and Yagan, Danny. Place-Based Redistribution. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2025. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2025-08-27. https://doi.org/10.3886/E237145V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary We study optimal income taxation in a spatial equilibrium model with heterogeneous locational preferences, labor supply decisions, and competitive housing and labor markets. Expressions characterizing the optimal tax schedule in each community are provided that capture the fiscal externalities associated with migration and the effects of redistribution between households and landlords. Correlation between skill and locational preferences yields optimal transfers to poor areas, while sorting based on comparative advantage can motivate transfers in either direction. A calibration to areas targeted by the U.S. Empowerment Zone program yields sizable optimal spatial transfers that are sensitive to assumed levels of migration responsiveness.



Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms Place-based policies; equity-efficiency tradeoff; taxes
JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      H21 Taxation and Subsidies: Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
      H71 State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
      R12 Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage United States


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Published Versions

V1 [2025-08-27]

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