Financiers vs. engineers
Subtitle: should the financial sector be taxed or subsidized?
By: Thomas Philippon.
Contributors: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Series: NBER working paper series -- no. 13560.; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research) -- working paper no. 13560.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2007
Place of publication: Cambridge, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 26
Subjects: Financial services industry -- Taxation; Entrepreneurship -- Economic aspects; Subsidies
Description: I study the allocation of human capital in an economy with production externalities, financial constraints and career choices. Agents choose to become entrepreneurs, workers or financiers. Entrepreneurship has positive externalities, but innovators face borrowing constraints and require the services of financiers in order to invest efficiently. When investment and education subsidies are chosen optimally, I find that the financial sector should be taxed in exactly the same way as the non-financial sector. When direct subsidies to investment and scientific education are not feasible, giving a preferred tax treatment to the financial sector can improve welfare by increasing aggregate investment in research and development.
Notes: "October 2007"

Includes bibliographical references (p. 22-24).

Also available in PDF from the NBER world wide web site (www.nber.org).