Nora Lustig

Working Paper 93: The Impact of Taxes and Transfers on Income Inequality, Poverty, and the Urban-Rural and Regional Income Gaps in China

China is characterized by high prefiscal overall, urban-rural and regional inequality. Applying standard fiscal incidence analysis, we estimate the redistributive effect of taxes and social spending on income distribution and poverty. In particular, we estimate the effect of direct and indirect taxes, direct cash transfers, contributory pensions, indirect subsidies, and in-kind transfers (education and health) on overall inequality and poverty, the urban-rural income gap, and income inequality between regions. The results show that the fiscal system is inequality- reducing overall and between regions. However, the urban-rural gap rises and the postfiscal headcount ratio is higher than prefiscal poverty in rural areas. Both are undesirable outcomes given that rural residents are poorer. They are largely explained by the considerably lower contributory pensions received by rural residents.

Nora Lustig presents at the French Development Agency

Presentation Nora Lustig

June 14, 2018
French Development Agency, Paris, France

Nora Lustig presented at the French Development Agency.

Presentation:

“Fiscal Policy, Inequality and Poverty in Low and Middle Income Countries,” by Nora Lustig. Presented at French Development Agency. Paris,France. June 14, 2018.

Workshop on Harmonization of household surveys, fiscal data and national accounts: comparing approaches and establishing standards

Workshop Ludovico Feoli, Nora Lustig, Sean Higgins

May 17-18, 2018
Paris School of Economics, Paris, France

The CEQ Institute’s Nora Lustig, Ludovico Feoli, and Sean Higgins participated in a workshop hosted by The World Inequality Lab at the Paris School of Economics in Paris. The workshop focused on methods to combine household surveys, fiscal data and national accounts in order to measure income and wealth inequality systematically across countries and over time. This workshop sought to review and debate different methodological approaches and establish data collection and production standards among different research groups.

Click here to view the workshop’s program.

Presentations:

“The Missing Rich in Household Surveys: A Survey of Causes and Correction Methods,” by Nora Lustig. Presented at the Paris School of Economics as part of Workshop on Harmonization of household surveys, fiscal data and national accounts: comparing approaches and establishing standards, Paris, France. May 17-18, 2018.

“Conclusions?,” by Nora Lustig. Presented at the Paris School of Economics as part of Workshop on Harmonization of household surveys, fiscal data and national accounts: comparing approaches and establishing standards, Paris, France. May 17-18, 2018.

Reframing Public Finance Promoting Justice, Democracy and Human Rights in Government Budgets

Presentation Nora Lustig

December 12-13, 2017
The World Bank, Washington, D.C., USA

Nora Lustig presented at Reframing Public Finance Promoting Justice, Democracy and Human Rights in Government Budgets.

Presentation:

“The Commitment to Equity Tool for Promoting Justice in Government Budgets,” by Nora Lustig. Reframing Public Finance Promoting justice, democracy and human rights in government budgets. International Budget Partnership. Washington, D.C. (virtual), December 12 and 13.

Towards Inclusive Social Protection Systems in LAC

Presentation Nora Lustig

November 16, 2017
Asunción, Paraguay

Nora Lustig presented at Towards Inclusive Protection Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Presentation:

“Política Fiscal, Inclusión y Sustentabilidad,” by Nora Lustig. Presented at Towards Inclusive Social Protection Systems in LAC, OECD, Asuncion, Paraguay. November 16 2017. (Virtual)

LACEA 25th Anniversary Session: Populism Then and Now: What Have We Learned?

Presentation Nora Lustig

November 11, 2017
Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Nora Lustig participated as a discussant.

Presentation:

“Redistribution and Poverty Reduction: Do Political Regimes Matter?,”by Nora Lustig. Presented at LACEA-President’s Panel on Populism, Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina. November 10, 2017.

LACEA-LAMES 2017

Presentation Nora Lustig, Sean Higgins

November 9-11, 2017
Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Nora Lustig presented at Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA) and the Latin American Econometric Society (LAMES) annual meetings, hosted by the Universidad de San Andres at the Hotel Intercontinental.

Presentations:

“Fiscal Policy, Inequality and Poverty: Methodological Innovations & New Results,” by Nora Lustig. Presented at LACEA-LAMES, Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina. November 9, 2017.

“Top Incomes, Issues with Survey Data, and Inequality: Evidence from Simulations and Linked Income and Tax Return Data,” by Nora Lustig and Sean Higgins. Presented at LACEA-LAMES, Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina. November 9, 2017.

“Methodological Innovations in Fiscal Incidence Analysis and Overview of Results,” by Nora Lustig. Presented at LACEA-LAMES, Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina. November 9, 2017.
Program Overview

CEQ Handbook 2020 Workshop: Methodological Advances in Fiscal Incidence Analysis Commitment to Equity Institute (CEQ)

Workshop Jon Jellema, Nora Lustig, Sean Higgins, Stephen Younger

November 7-8, 2017
Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Nora Lustig presented at the Universidad de San Andres as part of the CEQ Handbook 2020 Workshop. Click here to view workshop agenda.

Presentations:

“Towards a Taxonomy of the ‘Missing Rich Problem,” by Nora Lustig. Presented at CEQ Handbook 2020 Workshop, Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires. Argentina. November 7-8, 2017

“Top Incomes, Issues with Survey Data, and Inequality: Evidence from Simulations and Linked Income and Tax Return Data,” by Nora Lustig and Sean Higgins. Presented at CEQ Handbook 2020 Workshop, Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina. November 7-8, 2017.

The Distributional Impact of Taxes and Transfers: Evidence from Eight Low & Middle Income Countries

Book Launch, Presentation Nora Lustig

September 18, 2017
The World Bank, Washington, D.C., USA

The event will launch a new book—The Distributional Impact of Taxes and Transfers: Evidence from Eight Developing Countries—that provides an assessment of the effects of taxation and public expenditures on the income of different households, individuals, and socioeconomic groups as well as the distribution of income across the entire population and their impact on poverty and inequality.

The event will begin with a short introduction by the co-authors—Gabriela Inchauste, a lead economist in the Poverty and Equity Global Practice of the World Bank Group and Nora Lustig, Director of Commitment to Equity (CEQi), Tulane University. The event will also include a panel of experts that will discuss the longer-term impacts of the work, including the initial reception of the work, the extent to which there was a country dialogue and whether that led to policy changes in the longer run. The panel will also look at some more recent case studies where the analysis has helped to shape the policy dialogue.

Related Links:

Video Recording
Publication Page
Publication
World Bank Video: How Tax and Spending Policies Can Reduce Poverty and Inequality
Blog Post: World Bank – Let’s Talk Development: “How do taxes and transfers impact poverty and inequality in developing countries?”