Do you want to do research on a very timely and policy relevant topic, get access to about the best micro data in the world, and get paid for it?
The School of Economics and Business is seeking a PhD candidate in the field of public economics, and in topics related to Taxes, Inequality, and Sustainability at Skatteforsk - Center for Tax and Behavioral Research. The fellowship period is 3 years, with start-up on August 10, 2020.
The design of the tax system can affect individuals’ and firms’ behavior by providing incentives to avoid and evade taxes and by altering relative prices and returns, ultimately affecting the level and composition of savings, investments, employment, and production in the economy. There is a need to bridge macro and micro related topics when analyzing behavior of agents and how this should be taken into account when designing policy.
One main future challenge is to raise tax revenue to finance the welfare system in a small, open economy like Norway. Tax avoidance and tax evasion erodes the tax base and challenges the sustainability of universal welfare state policies and the ability to redistribute through the tax system, which then also has implications for inequality. Increased inequality may affect political stability and reduce political support for transition into more environmental and sustainable solutions.
In order to design a robust tax system that reduces both incentive and ability for agents to participate in tax avoidance and evasion without reducing investment and labor supply incentives, it is necessary to understand agents’ responses to tax changes in detail. This project aims to do this by analyzing rich Norwegian register data.
As a PhD-student at Skatteforsk you will be working on topics of direct policy relevance with an active and international research group and be included into ongoing projects. You will get access to a large micro data base with a broad range of variables on Norwegian firms, individuals, as well as ownership information that links firms and individuals.
Candidate: We seek PhD applicants with a Master’s degree in Economics, Business Administration, or a related field. The candidate should have an interest in topics related to behavioral responses to taxation and inequality, preferably with prior knowledge in the field of taxation. Strong interest in econometrics/statistics, coding and empirical analysis is required, and prior experience with Stata and/or R is a definitive advantage.
More information on the vacant PhD-positions is found here. And you apply for the position on JobbNorge by clicking this link.
Application deadline: March 1, 2020.
For further information, contact Annette Alstadsæter, +47 91697877, annette.alstadsater@nmbu.no.