Myrdal Prize 2015 to the Riksbank's Conny Olovsson and to Paul Klein, Stockholm University
Date
25/02/2016
Conny Olovsson, Sveriges Riksbank, and Paul Klein, Stockholm University, have been awarded the Myrdal Prize 2015 for their article “Should tax rates on goods and services be equal?” which was published in the journal Ekonomisk Debatt no. 3, 2015.
Here is the jury’s citation:
A well-designed tax system is a necessary condition for a strong labour market and good growth. There has been lively economic policy debate on the optimal tax rates for goods and services and this subject has also been studied in national economic research. Should the same tax rates apply to all types of goods and services, or should some goods or services have lower tax rates than others? Paul Klein and Conny Olovsson show in their article that there are probably considerable welfare gains to be made from implementing lower tax rates on services than on goods. The arguments for this differentiation apply in particular with regard to household services, that are good substitutes for services produced in the home. The article is well-written and informative and presents new research results of considerable relevance to the current economic policy debate.
The Myrdal Prize was founded in 1983 as a tribute to Professor Gunnar Myrdal on his 85th birthday. The prize is awarded annually by Swedbank to the best article published during the year in the Swedish Economics Association’s journal Ekonomisk Debatt . The jury currently consists of Anna Breman, chief economist at Swedbank and also chair of the jury, Professor Bertil Holmlund, reporter Viktor Munkhammar and Professor Hans Wijkander.
