Economic Report of the President

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capital income, such as corporate rate reductions. These two types ofinvestment incentives produce very different economic effects. Measureswhich apply only to new investments affect only marginal investmentdecisions; no tax benefit is conferred on the owners of existingcapital. Therefore, in the short term more investment is stimulatedper dollar of immediate revenue loss than would prove the case if thetax benefit were conferred on all capital. The tax legislation enactedin 1981 relied on tax incentives for new investments.Incentives for new investment are viewed by some observers asbenefiting primarily large wealthholders, but the reality may bedifferent. Since measures like the accelerated cost recovery systemreduce the effective cost of purchasing new capital goods, they arelikely to reduce the value of the old capital goods with which theycompete. For example, a subsidy for the purchase of new cars willreduce the value of used cars. Likewise, reduced taxation of new investmentmay temporarily reduce the level of stock market prices,which in part reflects the market's valuation of existing capital. Thus,investment incentives like those recently enacted, while raising therate of return on new investments, may actually hurt holders of existingwealth. Workers should benefit as greater capital accumulationraises their productivity and wages. The effect on the distribution ofincome is ambiguous* and might even prove progressive.Beginning with the enactment of the accelerated depreciation provisionsin 1954, policy has tended to rely on investment incentivesthat stimulate new investment and do not benefit existing investments.This continued reliance on measures that benefit new capitalat the expense of existing capital carries a subtle but real risk. As investorscome to anticipate this pattern of public policy, they may takeinto account expected future changes in tax laws as they make investmentdecisions. This might have an unintended effect. Investors whoexpect capital losses are less likely to invest. Stated differently, if theeffective purchase price of new capital goods is expected to declinebecause of tax reforms, there will be a tendency to defer investments.This suggests that in designing future reforms it may be desirable toconsider reducing taxes on existing as well as new capital.While current tax law provides significantly more stimulus to investmentthan did earlier law, there is room for further reform. Thevalue of depreciation allowances is still dependent on the rate of inflation,increasing the uncertainty of investment decisions. The accelerationof depreciation allowances has substantially reduced theburden of the corporate income tax, but investment in plant andequipment is still discouraged by taxes on dividends and capitalgains.94
A final problem under current tax law is the treatment of corporatelosses. Because of low profits due to cyclical conditions, or large depreciationwrite-offs, many corporations do not have taxable incomein some years, reducing the efficacy of investment incentives duringthose periods.CONCLUSIONSThe tax programs put in place in the last 2 years should play animportant role in increasing capital formation in the United States.Yet, much more can be done to ensure a rapidly growing standard ofliving in coming years. It is crucial that we take action to reduce largeFederal deficits and to further stimulate private saving and investment.In considering the issue of capital formation, policymakers shouldtake a long view. The reasons for increasing capital formation primarilyinvolve long-run growth rather than current economic conditions.We should not allow the poor performance of investmentduring a period of recession and high deficits to blind us to the importanceof policies that can help us achieve sustained and rapid economicgrowth in the years to come.95
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CONTENTSPageECONOMIC REPORT OF THE
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ECONOMIC REPORT OF THE PRESIDENTTo
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Monetary policy will play a critica
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Interest Rates and the U.S. Trade D
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THE ANNUAL REPORTOF THECOUNCIL OF E
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CONTENTSPageCHAPTER 1. FROM RECESSI
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PageConclusions 122CHAPTER 6. REVIE
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CHAPTER 1From Recession to Recovery
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slowed somewhat in the 1970s regard
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nal GNP growth is reflected in a sl
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inflation. More specifically, the A
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inflation rate, or with a 12 percen
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1988, an increase of about one-four
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CHAPTER 2The Dual Problems of Struc
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frequently associated with poor hea
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Chart 2-2Distribution of Unemployme
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Chart 2-4Distribution of Unemployme
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These findings suggest several conc
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Wage RigidityA number of studies sh
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that these measures may have caused
Page 49 and 50: Most young people find jobs or leav
Page 51 and 52: to employers who hire youths. Tax c
Page 53 and 54: defined broadly to include individu
Page 55 and 56: ship between incomplete experience
Page 57 and 58: CHAPTER 3The United States in the W
Page 59 and 60: with 2.6 percent in the other Organ
Page 61 and 62: TABLE 3-1 .—Structure ofthe U.S.
Page 63 and 64: TABLE 3-2.—Trade balances by comm
Page 65 and 66: concentrate on doing what it does r
Page 67 and 68: the United States will depress pric
Page 69 and 70: Chart 3-3Real Exchange Rates Of Maj
Page 71 and 72: AN UNDERVALUED YEN?The explanations
Page 73 and 74: arily reduced the international com
Page 75 and 76: nancial markets. These transactions
Page 77 and 78: TABLE 3-6.—Economic performance b
Page 79 and 80: were undoubtedly a highly favorable
Page 81 and 82: of lenders that some debtors will n
Page 83 and 84: CHAPTER 4Increasing Capital Formati
Page 85 and 86: ate of net investment was required,
Page 87 and 88: able share in Japan and 56 percent
Page 89 and 90: During the 1970s, productivity grow
Page 91 and 92: MEASURING NATIONAL SAVINGDomestic s
Page 93 and 94: TAX RULES AND PERSONAL SAVINGMany e
Page 95 and 96: on consumption taxation might also
Page 97 and 98: Nevertheless, a number of economic
Page 99: tion permitted businesses to deprec
Page 103 and 104: fleeted efforts to deal with proble
Page 105 and 106: egulation was probably not applicab
Page 107 and 108: Aeronautics Board, for example, the
Page 109 and 110: system resulted. Price controls, wh
Page 111 and 112: NGPA, both controlled and decontrol
Page 113 and 114: Price and allocation controls only
Page 115 and 116: nications industries through the re
Page 117 and 118: Several major pieces of legislation
Page 119 and 120: tempt to set cartel rates would be
Page 121 and 122: computer information and advertisin
Page 123 and 124: of computer technology to the payme
Page 125 and 126: trend by widening the sources and u
Page 127 and 128: changes. That is, members can arbit
Page 129 and 130: ceived to be a consequence of exces
Page 131 and 132: lowest point in the post-World War
Page 133 and 134: ing. Partly in response to the drop
Page 135 and 136: Chart 6-3Ratio of Consumer Installm
Page 137 and 138: Chart 6-4RATIO1.85Real Inventory/Sa
Page 139 and 140: percent increase in real defense pu
Page 141 and 142: 8.8 percent in 1981. These declines
Page 143 and 144: housing. Borrowing by the nonfinanc
Page 145 and 146: orous competitor for credit as usur
Page 147 and 148: 1982 their share had risen to over
Page 149 and 150: TABLE 6-9.—Economic outlook for 1
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A critical element in achieving hea
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LETTER OF TRANSMITTALCOUNCIL OF ECO
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Report to the President on the Acti
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ety of interagency and internationa
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ence J. Kotlikoff (Yale University)
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CONTENTSNATIONAL INCOME OR EXPENDIT
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B-70. Mortgage debt outstanding by
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NATIONAL INCOME OR EXPENDITURETABLE
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TABLE B-2.—Gross national product
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19291933193919401941194219431944194
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TABLE B-5.—Changes in GNP and GNP
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TABLE B-ll.—Gross national produc
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TABLE B-13.—Output, costs, and pr
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TABLE B-14.—Personal consumption
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TABLE B-16.—Gross and net private
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TABLE B-18.—Inventories and final
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TABLE B-20.—Relation of national
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TABLE B-21.—National income by ty
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TABLE B-22.—Sources of personal i
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TABLE B-24.—Total and per capita
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Year or quarterTotalTotalTABLE B-26
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POPULATION, EMPLOYMENT, WAGES, AND
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TABLE B-29.—Noninstitutional popu
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TABLE B-31.—Selected employment a
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TABLE B-33.—Civilian unemployment
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TABLE B-35.—Unemployment by reaso
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TABLE B-37.— Wage and salary work
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TABLE B-39.—Average weekly earnin
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TABLE B-41.—Changes in productivi
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TABLE B-43-—Industrial production
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TABLE B-45.—Capacity utilization
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TABLE B-46.—New construction acti
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TABLE B-48.—Nonfarm business expe
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TABLE B-50.—Manufacturers' shipme
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Year or monthAllitemsPRICESTABLE B-
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TABLE B-53.—Consumer price indexe
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TABLE B-55.—Changes in consumer p
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TABLE B-57.—Producer price indexe
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MONEY STOCK, CREDIT, AND FINANCETAB
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TABLE B-63.—Commercial bank loans
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TABLE B-64.—Total funds raised in
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TABLE B-66.—Aggregate reserves of
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TABLE B-67 .—Bond yields and inte
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TABLE B-69.—Consumer installment
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TABLE B-71-—Mortgage debt outstan
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TABLE B-72.—Federal budget receip
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TABLE B-74.—Relation of Federal G
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TABLE B-76.—Federal Government re
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TABLE B-78.—State and local gover
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TABLE B-80.—Estimated ownership o
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CORPORATE PROFITS AND FINANCETABLE
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Year or quarterTABLE B-84.—Corpor
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TABLE B-86.—Relation of profits a
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TABLE B-88.—Determinants of busin
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TABLE B-9Q.~Current assets and liab
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TABLE B-92.—Common stock prices a
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AGRICULTURETABLE B-94.—Farm incom
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TABLE B-96.—Farm input use, selec
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TABLE B-98.—U.S. exports and impo
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INTERNATIONAL STATISTICSTABLE B-100
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TABLE B-101.—U.S. international t
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TABLE B-103.—U.S. merchandise exp
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TABLE B-105.—International invest
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TABLE B-107.— World trade balance
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TABLE B-109.—Growth rates in real
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TABLE B-lll.—Unemployment rate, a
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