A data-driven procedure to determine the bunching window: an application to the Netherlands

We extend the bunching approach introduced by Saez (Am Econ J Econ Policy 2:180–212, 2010) by proposing an intuitive, data-driven procedure to determine the bunching window. By choosing the bunching window ad hoc, researchers throw away informative data points for estimating the counterfactual income distribution in the absence of the kink. Assuming a descending bunching mass to both sides of the threshold, the proposed algorithm produces a...