Event summary

Next Wednesday,  24th November (11:00 – in-person and online) we are hosting João Pereira dos Santos who is a researcher at NovaSBE and a technical advisor for Economic Affairs and Finance in the cabinet of the Secretary of State Assistant to the Portuguese Prime-Minister.

Your attendance and participation is very important.

João hold a PhD in Economics from Nova School of Business and Economics in Lisbon (2021). He was a visiting student at Harvard University during the spring semester of 2019 with a scholarship from Fulbright.

His research interests include Political and Public Economics, Urban Economics, and Economic History. Using methodologies such as microeconometrics (especially Policy Evaluation techniques), and Experimental Economics.

He participated in the Advanced Studies Program in International Economic Policy Research of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Title: Up and Down the Value-Added Tax

Joint with Ana Gouveia, Pedro Sousa, Susana Peralta

Abstract:

This paper assesses the incidence of a large and temporary increase in value-added tax for Portuguese restaurants and other catering services. In 2012, the tax increased from 13% to 23%, and it was brought back down in July 2016. Using data covering the universe of non-financial firms in  Portugal between 2007 and 2018, we estimate the effects of these asymmetric shocks upon consumers, capital owners, and workers. We show that firm-owners pass onto consumers around 40% of the VAT increase through prices while the pass-through after the tax repeal is close to zero. Resorting to a difference-in-differences strategy, we find that the tax increase did not harm employees as severely as firm’s margins, with some transition from full to part-time employment. With the tax reduction, employers pocketed part of the tax cut benefits.

To join the webinar, click on the link: https://videoconf-colibri.zoom.us/j/85717020527

Join the NIPE seminars Google calendar: https://bit.ly/2LKkPyV

Looking forward to your attendance.