This fall, Skatteforsk was joined by three new research assistants who bring experience in behavioral economics, financial markets and multinational taxation, strengthening the team as the center’s research network grows in Norway and internationally.
Daniele Messa, Naïma Mottes and Agathe Noyer join Skatteforsk with different academic backgrounds and a shared interest in understanding how economies work. Their arrival adds research capacity and new perspectives to Skatteforsk’s work.
Growing connections in tax research
The appointment of three new research assistants will strengthen Skatteforsk’s day-to-day research activities on campus and its collaboration with international partners. Among them is Daniele Messa, who is working with Matthew Collin and Ninon Moreau-Kastler at the International Tax Observatory in Paris as part of its Illicit Financial Flows program.
— In this project we study Myanmar and if and how the military retained economic power even after the start of the democratic transition, by favoring firms with military ties. We also look at how military-connected firms were affected by the waves of targeted sanctions imposed by the US and the EU after the military campaign against the Rohingya, says Daniele.
Daniele Messa’s research experience spans monetary policy, financial markets and the decisions firms make when entering new markets. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Università Cattolica in Milan and a master’s degree in economics from Tilburg University. At Tilburg, he examined how fragmentation across European stock markets affects stock liquidity.
— The one thing that excites me most is the fact that the research we carry out here focuses on topics of crucial importance and relevance in the current debate around the world and really supports policymakers in shaping policies and making decisions. Seeing that what we do can have a positive impact on the world motivates me to carry out rigorous and compelling research.
Before joining Skatteforsk, Daniele returned to Università Cattolica as a research assistant at the Complexity Lab in Economics. There, he helped develop a simulation model exploring the decline in US business dynamism since the 1980s, focusing on how start-ups decide whether to enter a new market.
Understanding what drives behavioral change
Naïma Mottes brings a background combining behavioral economics, finance and practical work on encouraging more sustainable choices. In Skatteforsk, she is working on offshore real estate in Norway with Andreas Økland.
— Our aim is to measure how much of Norwegian real estate is owned by non-residents, how this has evolved over time, who these owners are and what kind of property they invest in. We may later also study how this affects local residential property prices and vacancy rates, says Naïma.
— What excites me most about this job is to do research on policy issues that matter to me and that are also very much on the political agenda. I am also very happy to discover Norway and experience its working culture within such a nice international team, says Naïma.
Prior to working in Skatteforsk, she completed a master’s degree in behavioral economics at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Through internships at SNCF and Deloitte, she worked on encouraging sustainable behavioral change among travelers and employees. Her earlier experience includes financial fraud detection at Crédit Coopératif in France.
Investigating multinational taxation
Agathe Noyer joins Skatteforsk with experience investigating how multinational enterprises respond to tax rules. She holds a master’s degree in Economics from Institut Polytechnique de Paris and most recently worked as a junior researcher in the International Tax Observatory’s Multinationals program. There, she studied profit shifting using French administrative tax data and country-by-country reporting microdata.
In Skatteforsk Agathe is working on two projects:
Artificial Intelligence and the Human Capital Structure of Tax Advisory, with Annette Alstadsæter, Elisa Casi and Kim Alina Schultz: Using employee-level data from Revelio Labs and Norwegian administrative employer-employee data, they examine how AI affects the labor market for tax advisors and whether these changes translate into lower advisory fees and reduced compliance costs for firms.
Two Decades of Country-by-Country Reporting: Lessons for Designing an Ideal MNE Reporting Framework, with Giulia Aliprandi, Annette Alstadsæter, Samuel Delpeuch and Miroslav Palansky:
— This policy paper reviews country-by-country reporting, covering how the data are made available and used beyond tax administration, and offers a practical guide to their scope, limitations and potential uses. It then uses this body of evidence to assess whether CbCR works as intended and to derive ten lessons for future MNE reporting frameworks.
Previously, as a research assistant at CREST — the Center for Research in Economics and Statistics, she used survey data to study tax morale in France.
A growing team, a wider network
The arrival of the new research assistants marks another step in Skatteforsk’s growth. Since joining in September, they have brought fresh perspectives and added research capacity, while gaining hands-on experience with some of the most pressing questions in tax research.
Since the center grant was awarded by the Research Council of Norway in 2022, Skatteforsk has expanded its team and the scope of its research. This growth also creates opportunities for young researchers to contribute to the center’s work and build their own research careers.
Skatteforsk’s network is growing alongside its team. Internationally, Director Annette Alstadsæter serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of MannheimTaxation, a joint initiative of ZEW and the University of Mannheim that brings together researchers across tax disciplines.
Closer to home, our sister center, UiS Senter for Skatterett, was established at the University of Stavanger’s School of Business and Law in August, with an official inauguration in September. Led by Helle Austvik Tholo, the center works closely with Skatteforsk to bring together expertise in tax law and economics and deepen understanding of how tax systems affect society. It also aims to strengthen the next generation of tax researchers through doctoral training and opportunities for students to gain research experience.