Time: Dec. 6 (Mon.), 10:00 – 11:30 am

Title: Dividend Imputation, Investment and Capital Accumulation in Open Economies

About the Speaker:

Chung Tran is an Associate Professor of Economics at the Australian National University, a current member of the Australian Treasury’s Expert Panel on macroeconomic forecasting and modelling, and an Associate Investigator for the Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research.  Chung’s research mainly focuses on taxation and fiscal policy. His research has been funded by the Australian Research Council, the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Bank of Japan. His work has also been published in leading economics journals including Review of Economic Dynamics, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, European Economic Review and Journal of Development Economics.

Abstract:

We study the macroeconomic effects of dividend imputation in a small open economy model with firm heterogeneity, a dividend imputation system, and an internationally integrated capital market. Our analysis indicates that dividend imputation has two opposing effects on investment and capital accumulation. On one hand, it mitigates the adverse effects of double taxation and induces more saving and investment; on other hand, it raises the cost of investment for firms that are partially or fully imputed, which subsequently reduces investment. The net effect on capital accumulation is ambiguous, depending on which force is dominant. In addition, favorable dividend imputation treatments for tax-resident investors create a new friction in the domestic capital market that prevents foreign capital to be a perfect substitute for domestic saving, which subsequently increases frictions in reallocation of capital across firms. Overall, our quantitative results show that dividend imputation increases domestic saving, aggregate capital and output.