Profit taxation and royalties: evidence from gold mines in Sub-Saharan Africa

E-print/Working paper (2019)

In this paper, we analyze theoretically and empirically the effects of tax changes on firms’ profits in extractive industries. In the theoretical part, we assume a country that levies a profit tax and a ... [more ▼]

In this paper, we analyze theoretically and empirically the effects of tax changes on firms’ profits in extractive industries. In the theoretical part, we assume a country that levies a profit tax and a royalty on the profits of extractive firms to maximize its tax revenues. The mining companies may reduce their taxable income by cost manipulation. By analyzing the optimal choice of the government and of the firms, we first establish the optimal tax policy and then we investigate the impact of the optimal fiscal policy on firms’ profits. In the empirical part of the paper, we estimate the effect of the profit tax and royalty on the extracting firms’ profit in African countries during the period spanning from 2007 to 2018. We use the Mining Intelligence database to constitute a panel of annual individual data from a database of 363 gold mines located in 21 Sub-Saharan countries. We obtain an inverse relationship between the tax rate change of the two tax instruments and the profit of the firms. [less ▲]

Social division in the market: conspicous consumption with nationalist feelings

E-print/Working paper (2019)

In this paper, we explore the effects of conspicuous goods as a means of social division between native citizens and migrants. We push forward the hypothesis that choosing a particular good can confer a ... [more ▼]

In this paper, we explore the effects of conspicuous goods as a means of social division between native citizens and migrants. We push forward the hypothesis that choosing a particular good can confer a sense of place. We introduce this idea in an international vertical differentiation market with two variants and two social groups: migrants and natives. Natives are narrow-minded since they attribute a positive social value to the variant that complies with their own consumption culture. Migrants are open-minded. When consumers belonging to different groups meet, they exchange information about their consumption habits and consumption well-being that reveals their consumption culture: narrow-minded versus open-minded. Consequently, after meeting, some consumers may change beliefs (narrow-minded to open-minded or vice versa) and consumption choices. Using a dynamic model, we fully elucidate the steady-state equilibrium and highlight the impact of nationalism on migrant integration. [less ▲]

Tax havens compliance with international standards : a temporal perspective compliance with international standards

in Review of International Economics (2019)

Measuring Fiscal Effects of Immigration In Europe: A quantile Approach

Scientific Conference (2018, June)

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the fiscal impact of immigration in Europe using a quantile regression approach. These estimation methods provide a richer characterization of the data ... [more ▼]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the fiscal impact of immigration in Europe using a quantile regression approach. These estimation methods provide a richer characterization of the data, allowing us to consider the impact of a co-variate (which one) on the entire distribution and not merely its conditional mean. Using data from European Survey on Living Conditions (EU-SILC), we estimate the net fiscal position of immigrants in Europe between 2007-2015. The net fiscal position is the difference between social services obtained and personal taxes paid leading to be either a fiscal contributor or a fiscal dependent. On average, the fiscal impact of both European and non-European migrants is not different from that of native citizens. Surprisingly, when using a quantile approach, we find that non-EU migrants belonging to the upper tail of the distribution and to the lowest one, are much more contributors as compared with the corresponding native citizens. At last, we find a very contrasting relationship between the fiscal perception of European citizens regarding immigrants and the calculated fiscal impact of immigrants: countries, where immigrants are perceived negatively, are instead countries where migrants are net fiscal contributors and vice-versa [less ▲]

Health and Pollution in a Vertically Differentiated Duopoly

E-print/Working paper (2018)

Migration: a theoretical comparison on countries' welfare

in International Journal of Economic Theory (2018)

We compare the effects of migration on the production of public goods, income taxes, and on the welfare of residents in the sending and in the receiving country. Migration is driven by income di¤erences ... [more ▼]

We compare the effects of migration on the production of public goods, income taxes, and on the welfare of residents in the sending and in the receiving country. Migration is driven by income di¤erences between countries. Alternative wage adjustment scenarios are considered: fully flexible wages; upward rigidity, and unemployment. We show that in all scenarios, emigration is welfare detrimental for the origin country. Migration is welfare improving for the destination country in presence of flexible wages and upward rigidity, but it has detrimental effects in presence of unemployment. [less ▲]

Knowdledge diffusion and price dynamics in a vertically differentiated market

Presentation (2017, May 24)

Measuring fiscal effects of migrants in EU

Scientific Conference (2017, May)

Measuring fiscal effects of migrants in EU

Scientific Conference (2017, April)

Migration: A burden or a blessing for the natives

Presentation (2016, March)