Quantitative Macro Versus Sufficient Statistic Approach: A Laffer Curve Dilemma?

Abstract

This article highlights two approaches to tax policy for the top 1 percent of earners. On the one hand are dynamic general equilibrium models requiring complicated calibration and simulation algorithms and strong structural assumptions. On the other hand is the sufficient statistic approach, which attempts to parsimoniously reach the trinity of empirical, theoretical, and policy relevance. The author illustrates ongoing work highlighting explicit connections between these two approaches.