The distributional impacts of meal vouchers in the Czech Republic

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F67985998%3A_____%2F16%3A00467299" target="_blank" >RIV/67985998:_____/16:00467299 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/00216208:11230/16:10327614

Result on the web

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.18267/j.pep.587" target="_blank" >http://dx.doi.org/10.18267/j.pep.587</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.18267/j.pep.587" target="_blank" >10.18267/j.pep.587</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

The distributional impacts of meal vouchers in the Czech Republic

Original language description

This article aims to analyse the distributional impacts of the meal voucher system in the Czech Republic, especially concerning income inequality. It analyses the redistributive effects of meal allowances on various income deciles providing rough estimates of the impact of meal allowance tax exemption on the government budget and simulating several scenarios for the replacement of the current meal allowance scheme with flat meal allowances. We estimate that meal allowance tax relief represents a direct burden of around 11.3 billion Czech korunas for the state budget, although this approximation does not take indirect effects into account and could thus be an overestimate. We provide evidence which suggests that the current form of meal allowances widens the income gap between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, within as well as across the income deciles. Affluent households receive meal allowances more frequently, and, moreover, the allowances they receive are both nominally and proportionately higher. According to our simulation using a constant budget of the size of our rough estimate replacing the current meal allowance scheme with a flat meal allowance system would promote income equality. Such a change would benefit the lower deciles, due to a higher share of individuals in these deciles being entitled to meal allowances, while the upper decile households would see a decline in their meal allowances.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_x - Unclassified - Peer-reviewed scientific article (Jimp, Jsc and Jost)

CEP classification

AH - Economics

OECD FORD branch

—

Project

<a href="/en/project/TD020188" target="_blank" >TD020188: Design of methods for quantitative empirical identification of socially vulnerable demographic groups and analysis of existing interactions with tax and social benefits and other tools of governmental social policy</a><br>

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2016

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Prague Economic Papers

ISSN

1210-0455

e-ISSN

—

Volume of the periodical

25

Issue of the periodical within the volume

6

Country of publishing house

CZ - CZECH REPUBLIC

Number of pages

17

Pages from-to

706-722

UT code for WoS article

000390727000005

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85007573009