The first chapter of this dissertation uses a three-sector intertemporal general equilibrium model to examine the effects of various taxes and favorable depreciation rules on capital accumulation and the depletion of natural resources. We find that in a world of infinitely lived firms and households, under certain conditions, taxation causes the steady-state level of capital to be lower than the no-tax level. This divergence, however is reduced by lower capital gains tax rates and favorable depreciation rules. We also find that taxation causes the extraction rate of natural resources to be faster than the social optimum. Although this difference is lessened by lower capital gains tax rates, it is exacerbated by a generous depreciation system. These results challenge the "conventional wisdom" that depreciation rules should be the same for all sectors. / Although the first chapter highlights the importance of a general equilibrium analysis of a multi-sector economy with intertemporally optimizing firms and consumers, there are a number of issues that it neglects. Among these are the adjustment costs associated with investments, and the fact that consumers might plan only for a finite horizon. The second and third chapters of this dissertation take up these issues. / The second chapter, which also uses an intertemporal model, determines theoretically how various taxes and adjustment costs affect the growth paths of domestic corporations and foreign subsidiaries of American multinationals. We find that the effects of capital gains taxation and adjustment costs on the growth paths of domestic corporations and foreign subsidiaries of American multinationals are likely to be unfavorable. / Finally, the third chapter uses a three period overlapping generations model to examine the effects of the capital income tax, the labour income tax, and favorable depreciation rules on human and physical capital accumulation. We find that, under certain conditions, the capital income tax has a negative impact on steady-state levels of physical and human capital, and the steady-state physical capital to human capital ratio. Moreover favorable depreciation rules are shown to reduce the impact of the capital income tax.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.40453 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Toppa, Rebecca Saunders. |
| Contributors | Long, N. V. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Economics.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001537889, proquestno: NN19778, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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