Income distribution effects of the Swedish 1991 tax reform: An analysis of a microsimulation using generalized Kakwani decomposition

Abstract

In 1991 a major tax reform was implemented in Sweden. This study compares the income equalization (income redistribution), vertical and horizontal equity properties of the pre- and post-reform tax and transfer systems. The method used is a decomposition, first proposed by Kakwani (1984), of the difference between the generalized Gini coefficients of the pre- and post-tax/transfer income distributions. The post-reform income distribution was obtained through a microsimulation carried out by the Ministry of Finance. Several findings on the income distribution effect of the 1991 tax and benefit reform emerge from the study. The overall methodological conclusion is that much more information was gained when different generalizations of the decomposition were considered.