Research

PLUS Economics research seminar

The Department of Econonomics of the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (PLUS) invites researchers to present and discuss their latest research in economics and management.

Research seminar

Our research seminar is Tuesdays from 17:00–18:30. On-site talks take place in room HS 212 ( CHU1OG2.286). Online talks take place on Zoom. If you want to attend the seminar, please contact Lisa Windsteiger.

12.03.2024
(on-site)
Title: Tax Competition Effects of a Minimum Tax Rate: Empirical Evidence from German Municipalities
Speaker: Thiess Büttner (FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg)

Abstract: This paper explores the effects of a federal law that obligates previously unregulated municipalities in Germany to set a minimum tax rate on firms’ taxable profits. In particular, we examine the tax-policy response of municipalities that compete locally with “tax-haven municipalities”, i.e. municipalities that originally have set lower and, in some cases, even zero tax rates. The analysis distinguishes treated and not-treated municipalities based on their distance to a tax-haven. Our results show that the majority of municipalities do not change their tax policy. Apart from the tax-havens, only high-tax municipalities show a response – they reduce the business tax rate without experiencing a decline in tax revenues.
19.03.2024
(on-site)
Title: The tragedy of the common heating bill
Speaker: Harald Mayr (UZH)

Abstract: We study the distortion that arises when apartment buildings share a common heating bill. This situation resembles the tragedy of the commons. Individual metering solves the problem, but does it improve welfare? We propose a theoretical framework with shared billing and environmental externalities to derive a sufficient statistic for the welfare effect of individual metering. We then analyze the introduction of individual metering in 265 apartment buildings in Switzerland. Our event study estimates show that individual metering reduces annual heating expenses. Machine learning estimates reveal substantial heterogeneity in treatment and welfare effects, suggesting a role for targeted interventions in this context.
09.04.2024
(on-site)
Title: Earnings Responses to Sudden Wealth: Inheritance, Inter-Vivos Gifts, and Lotteries
Speaker: Isabel Martinez (KOF Institute, ETH Zürich)

Abstract: We study individual earnings responses to positive wealth shocks from inheritance, inter-vivos gifts, and lotteries. In a life-cycle model we show how responses may differ across the three types of shocks because they occur at different ages. In addition, gifts tend to be targeted, and socio-psychological circumstances differ between the different shocks. We explore these differences in a panel of tax records for a large Swiss canton. We find consistently negative earnings responses, irrespective of the source of the wealth shock. The strongest responses are found for older workers – partly through early retirement–, and for women. Conditional on age, inheritance triggers weaker earnings responses than lottery winnings. Gifts are associated with the strongest reductions in subsequent earnings. However, strong pre-trends confirm them to be targeted and do not allow us to quantify the causal effect of inter-vivos giving. For instrumented gifts, however, no statistically significant earnings response is observed. This suggests that, when abstracting from targeting, behavioral effects mitigate labor supply reductions of donees.
07.05.2024
(on-site)
Title: TBA
Speaker: Dieter Pennerstorfer (JKU Linz)

Abstract: TBA
28.05.2024
(on-site)
Title: TBA
Speaker: Benjamin Arold (ETH Zürich)

Abstract: TBA
11.06.2024
(on-site)
Title: TBA
Speaker: Gary Koop (Uni Strathclyde)

Abstract: TBA

Previous research seminars: Winter 2023, Summer 2023, Winter 2022Summer 2022Winter 2021

Picture: © flickr.com/uni-salzburg