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  3. Journal of Economic Perspectives
  4. Summer 1987
  5. Household Behavior and the Tax Reform Act of 1986

Journal of Economic Perspectives

ISSN 0895-3309 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7965 (Online)

Household Behavior and the Tax Reform Act of 1986

  • Jerry A. Hausman
  • James M. Poterba
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol. 1, no. 1, Summer 1987
(pp. 101–119)
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Abstract

President Reagan's May 1985 letter to Congress, accompanying his tax reform proposal, argued that the existing tax system hindered economic growth because "most Americans labor under excessively high tax rates that discourage work and cut drastically into savings." This paper analyzes how the Tax Reform Act of 1986 affects these aspects of household behavior.

Citation

Hausman, Jerry A., and James M. Poterba. 1987. "Household Behavior and the Tax Reform Act of 1986." Journal of Economic Perspectives 1 (1): 101–119. DOI: 10.1257/jep.1.1.101

JEL Classification

  • D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
  • G51 Household Finance: Household Saving, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
  • H24 Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies; includes inheritance and gift taxes
  • H31 Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents: Household
  • J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply
  • K34 Tax Law