Tax competition, trade liberalization, and imperfect labour markets

Abstract

In this paper, we study the link between trade liberalization and imperfect labour markets for tax competition. We show that rigid labour markets increase the mobility of the tax base as compared to perfect labour markets translating into lower Nash tax rates. Lower trade barriers exhibit a similar effect. It turns out that the imperfect labour market and the trade liberalization channels are interdependent. © Oxford University Press 2011 All rights reserved.