Tax-benefit revealed redistributive preferences over time : Ireland 1987-2005

By inverting Saez (2002)'s model of optimal income taxation, we characterize
the redistributive preferences of the Irish government between 1987 and 2005. The
(marginal) social welfare function revealed by this approach is consistently comparable over time and show great stability despite profound changes in market incomes
and important fiscal reforms over the period. Results are robust to numerous checks
regarding data, income concepts and elasticities. A comparison with the UK shows
marked differences reflecting the narrow political spectrum in Ireland compared to
radical changes in British politics over the past 30 years. Some "anomalies" in the
revealed social welfare function suggests introducing transfers to the working poor.