Política Tributária, distribuição de renda e demanda agregada

Abstract

The aim of this thesis was to analyze the relationship between income inequality and economic growth, as well as to investigate how tax policy can influence income distribution and, consequently, the output of economies. The motivation for this thesis derives from the understanding that there is a connection between income inequality and aggregate consumption. Specifically, the study focuses on wage inequality and the connection between tax structure and income distribution. In this perspective, the tax structure is seen as an important tool available to the state to exercise its distributive function, as it affects the disposable income of households, which influences consumption and aggregate demand. The approach used in this research is based on Kaleckian models of growth and distribution, which incorporate class heterogeneity and income distribution. Firstly, the Kaleckian tradition of growth and distribution is presented, from the contributions of Kalecki to post-Kaleckian models, with the work of Bhaduri and Marglin (1990). Then, the Kaleckian approach to class heterogeneity and income distribution is defined, in which the main contributions of the literature are analyzed. Based on this, a formal model was proposed departing from on the works of Carvalho and Rezai (2015) and Tavani and Vasudevan (2014), which establish a connection between wage heterogeneity and demand and accumulation regimes. Regarding the tax approach, the works that discuss the relationship between fiscal policy and income distribution in the tradition of growth models inspired by Kalecki are recovered. In this context, a post-Kaleckian model was proposed incorporating the structure of taxes and income transfers, arguing that fiscal policy can alter the accumulation and growth regime of economies. Then, the central hypothesis of the thesis - the relationship between personal and functional income distribution, tax policy, and growth - was developed from a formal model that considers class differentiation, including a subdivision of the working class. The analysis focuses on how the tax structure affects functional income distribution and aggregate demand. The simulations carried out allowed us to conclude that a more equal income distribution, with a progressive tax structure, has the potential to stimulate the dynamics of demand and economic growth. Finally, empirical evidence is presented to test some of the relationships outlined in the thesis.