research paper

You will make a proposal to change one aspect of the tax code, and analyze the benefits and costs associated with this proposed tax change. You can choose to make any proposal that you wish, as long as a detailed analysis of proposal does not already exists out there.

When writing the proposal, consider:

· a)  Why do you think this change to the tax code is important?

· b)  Who will be affected by the policy?

· c)  The effects on the budget: will tax revenues increase or decrease, and what is the estimated 
change?

· d)  The effect on individual behavior: will the policy lead to changes in labor supply, savings, 
investments, marriage, fertility, etc?

· e)  The general equilibrium effects: can you think of possible repercussions to other sectors of the 
economy?

· f)  Efficiency and equity: will this proposal lead to changes in efficiency and equity?

For all your predictions, you need to cite previous literature and the basic theory or empirical evidence on the topic. Never make statements that cannot be backed up by evidence or sound economic reasoning!

Coming up with good ideas for a proposal might be hard. Here are some proposal examples that can help you think on how a real proposal is made, and how yours should look like.

· a)  Hoynes (2014) proposal on the EITC, posted on the Project folder.

· b)  Look at this website: http://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/.

And here are suggestions that can help you generate ideas for good proposals:

· a)  Go to the presidential candidates (Republicans or Democrats) website and look at their tax 
proposals. Analyze one of the proposals.

· b)  Think of all the aspects of the tax code that you have learned so far in lecture, and think of way to 
change them. For example, here are a few changes to the tax code you could propose:

i. Items going into itemized deducations (mortgage interested, charity spending, health 
spending, etc)

ii. Quantity of exemptions and deductions.

iii. Changes to marginal tax rates.

iv. Changes to tax credits (child credits, educational credits, EITC, etc)

v. Changes to sales taxes.

vi. Changes to 401Ks and other retirement accounts.

· c)  Come talk to me about possible ideas!

Project Instructions:

Both the presentation and the paper should include the content describe above. More details below:

· a)  Presentation requirements:

i. Around 12 minutes, plus a few minutes for Q&A.

ii. At least 2 group members must speak during the presentation but not everyone in the 
group has to have a spoken part.

· b)  Paper requirements:

i. 10 pages (9 are also fine), Font 12 Time New Roman, 1-inch margins, double spaced.

ii. Include Figures and Tables (to be included in the 10 page count).

iii. Include bibliography and citations (to not be included in the 10 page count).

Grading:

The final group presentation and project will affect 15% of your overall grade (5 for presentation, 10 for paper). To make sure that all group members are contributing to the project, each student will also fill in a peer evaluation form evaluation the contribution of his/her other group members. If the peer evaluations are consistent in pinpointing at some students contributing significantly more or less to the project, I reserve the right to assign slightly different grades for individuals in the same group.