Tax Reform and Automatic Stabilization
利用消费保险文献的实证框架和PSID数据，研究1980年代联邦所得税改革对消费自动稳定性的影响，发现ERTA和TRA86使消费稳定性降低约50%，而后来EITC慷慨度的提高恢复或增强了消费保险。
An income tax provides implicit insurance by dampening the variability of disposable income and consumption. Using an empirical framework derived from the consumption insurance literature and data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics we examine the effect of federal income tax reforms of the 1980's on automatic stabilization of consumption. Overall, ERTA and TRA86 reduced consumption stability by about 50 percent. Recently increased EITC generosity restored or enhanced consumption insurance. The welfare cost of moving to the post-TRA86 system is sizable for relatively risk-averse households facing large income risk but is much more modest for the typical household.