The increased global mobility of capital and labour poses a number of challenges to national tax systems: intricate global structures to hide personal wealth from the eyes of tax administrators and regulators, conflicts about the international allocation of taxing rights, a fast-evolving international tax policy landscape. The seminar focuses on the topic of taxation in the global economy and aims to bring together international junior and senior researchers working on international taxation, tax avoidance and evasion, tax competition, tax harmonization and related topics. Presentations can be polished papers or work in progress. The aim is to learn from each other and to discuss in a friendly atmosphere.

The seminar takes place at Paris School of Economics and via Zoom.

Sign-up for the seminar mailing list here.

If you would like to book a private time slot to meet the speaker, please email Ninon Moreau-Kastler ninon.moreau-kastler@psemail.eu or Léo Czajka leo.czajka@psemail.eu specifying which session.

This project has received funding from the European Union (TAXUD/2022/DE/310).

2025-26 Calendar

Friday 6 February 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-15

• Guillermo Cruces

Friday 13 February 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-15

• Camille Semelet

Friday 27 February 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-15

• Joana Naritomi

Friday 6 February 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-15

• Guillermo Cruces

Friday 13 March 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-15

• Dzhamilya Nigmatulin

Friday 20 March 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-15

• David Henning

Friday 24 April 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-15

• Adnan Khan

Friday 22 May 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-15

• Nathan Lane

Past Seminars

Friday September 19 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-15

• Margarita López Forero (SERMI-DPEM, Banque de France): Offshoring Wage Inequality in Tax Havens with Kevin Parra-Ramirez and Gabriel Smagghue

Friday 26 September 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-15

• Laurence Jacquet (CY Cergy Paris Université): Production Regulation Principles and Tax Reforms

Friday 3 October 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-15

• Usama Jamal (CY Cergy Paris University): Tax Rules and Capital Reallocation: Real Effects of Anti-Tax Avoidance Policies

Friday 10 October 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-09

• Isabel Micó Millán (Bank of Spain): Inheritance Tax Avoidance Through the Family Firm

Friday 17 October 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-15

• Rocco Macchiavello (London School of Economics): Mafias and Firms

Friday 24 October 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-15

• Enea Baselgia (ETH Zurich): Inequality and Redistribution in Switzerland: Evidence from Distributional National Accounts

Friday 7 November 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-15

• Enrico Rubolino (University of Lausanne, CREST): How Teaching Tax Morale in Schools Shapes Prosocial Behavior

Friday 21 November 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

• Jakob Brounstein (Institute for Fiscal Studies): Discouraging firm ownership via tax havens in Ecuador

Friday 28 November 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-15

• Joana Garcia (Banco de Portugal): Inheritance Tax Avoidance Through the Family Firm

The Offshore Talks – An Exploration of Tax Avoidance, Tax Evasion and Illicit Financial Flows

How do the wealthy manage to dodge taxes and hide their fortunes in secret jurisdictions? What is the impact of hidden financial flows on the world economy? It’s time to lift the veil! Join us for The Offshore Talks, a groundbreaking lecture series that dives deep into the world of tax avoidance, tax evasion, and illicit financial flows.

🌍 What’s in store? Leading voices from economics, law, political science, investigative journalism, and beyond will converge to share their latest research and real-world insights. Get ready for an exciting lineup of distinguished speakers who will help you navigate the hidden mechanisms that shape global inequality.

The seminar takes place at the Paris School of Economics.

Sign-up for the seminar mailing list here.

Past seminars:

🎥  Offshore: Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism with Brooke Harrington, Professor of Economic Sociology, Dartmouth College.

🎥  Crack-Up Capitalism: Market Radicals and the Dream of a World Without Democracy with Quinn Slobodian, Professor of international history at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University.

The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires with Kristin Surak, Associate Professor of Political Sociology at the London School of Economics.

Conference: Shaping the Future of International Tax Cooperation

International taxation is no longer just a technical issue — it sits at the center of trade wars, great-power politics, and the global push for economic fairness.

Join us on October 2, from 6–8 PM at the Paris School of Economics, for a high-level discussion bringing together ICRICT Commissioners, policymakers, academics, and civil society leaders to explore:

• How U.S. trade threats target digital taxes and the global minimum tax.

• The risks unilateral measures pose for multilateral tax reform.

• What’s at stake in the UN Framework Tax Convention negotiations.

• Concrete pathways toward a fairer international tax system.

📍 Hosted by: ICRICT, World Inequality Lab, Paris School of Economics, EU Tax Observatory, CCFD-Terre Solidaire, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Oxfam France, and Eurodad – the European Network on Debt and Development.

The increased global mobility of capital and labour poses a number of challenges to national tax systems: intricate global structures to hide personal wealth from the eyes of tax administrators and regulators, conflicts about the international allocation of taxing rights, a fast-evolving international tax policy landscape. The seminar focuses on the topic of taxation in the global economy and aims to bring together international junior and senior researchers working on international taxation, tax avoidance and evasion, tax competition, tax harmonization and related topics. Presentations can be polished papers or work in progress. The aim is to learn from each other and to discuss in a friendly atmosphere.

The seminar takes place at Paris School of Economics and via Zoom.

Sign-up for the seminar mailing list here.

If you would like to book a private time slot to meet the speaker, please email Ninon Moreau-Kastler ninon.moreau-kastler@psemail.eu or Léo Czajka leo.czajka@psemail.eu specifying which session.

This project has received funding from the European Union (TAXUD/2022/DE/310).

2024-25 Calendar

Past seminars:

Friday 13 June 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

Ilyana Kuziemko (Princeton): Compensate the Losers?” Economic policy and the origins of U.S. partisan realignment 

Friday 23 May 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

Lin Tian (INSEAD): Firm Networks and Tax Compliance: Experimental Evidence from Uganda

Friday 16 May 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

Erin Troland (Federal Reserve Board): The Role of Property Assessment Oversight in School Finance Inequality

Friday 25 April 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

Isaac Amedanou (Université Jean-Monnet Saint-Etienne, GATE Lyon St-Étienne): Economic Sanctions and Taxation of Natural Resource Rent: Evidence from Spatial Analysis

Friday 4 April 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

Sebastian Siegloch (University of Cologne): Welfare Effects of Property Taxation

Friday 11 April 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

Antoine Ferey (SciencesPo, CESifo, IPP-PSE): Redistribution and Unemployment Insurance

Friday 28 March 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

Isabela Manelici (LSE): The Gains from Foreign Multinationals in an Economy with Distortions

Friday 21 March 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

Lucie Gadenne (Queen Mary, IFS): When Private Firms Provide Public Goods: The Allocation of CSR Spending

Friday 14 March 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

Isabelle Méjean (Sciences Po): Firms’ Supply Chain Adaptation to Carbon Taxes

Friday 7 March 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

Céline Azemar (Rennes School of Business): Controversial Preferential Tax Treatments for Multinational Enterprises in the EU: Evidence from Spain

Friday 14 February 2025 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

Bob Rijkers (World Bank, Utrecht University): How (in)efficient are governments? Evidence from matched customs transactions data with Manuel Garcia-Santana and Devaki Ghose

Friday 13 December 2024 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

KNEBELMANN Justine (Sciences Po): Discretion versus Algorithms: Bureaucrats and Tax Equity in Senegal

Friday 29 November 2024 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

Arthur Guillouzouic Le Corff (CNRS, AMSE, PSE-IPP): Taxing Wealth in the Presence of Liquidity Constraints: Evidence from France

Friday 18 October 2024 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

WALLOSSEK Luisa (University of Oslo): The Marriage Earnings Gap

Friday 8 November 2024 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

Maarten van’t Riet (Tilburg University): Tax avoidance by redirecting royalty flows: estimating the global revenue loss with Arjan Lejour (Tilburg University)

Friday 4 October 2024 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

LANGENMAYR Dominika (KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt): Navigating the Amazon: The Incidence of Digital Service Taxes

Friday 27 September 2024 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

KYSAR Rebecca (Fordham University): The Global Tax Deal and the New International Economic Governance

Friday 20 September 2024 12:00-13:00 │ R1-14

GOUPILLE-LEBRET Jonathan (ENS LYON): Tax Design, Information, and Elasticities: Evidence From the French Wealth Tax with Bertrand GARBINTI, Mathilde MUNOZ, Stefanie STANTCHEVA, and Gabriel ZUCMAN

The workshop is organised jointly by the IEB, the University of Barcelona and the EU Tax Observatory. It will take place at the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Barcelona on the 3rd and 4th of June 2025.

It will feature presentations by leading economists on various topics related to public economics. The sessions will cover topics ranging from corporate taxation, offshore wealth, wealth taxation, to inheritance taxation, taxes and inequality and the incidence of taxes.

We are also happy to have two keynote speakers: Dina Pomeranz (University of Zurich) and Youssef Benzarti (University of California, Santa Barbara).

Call for Papers

We welcome empirical and theoretical submissions on any topic in the economics of taxation. Contributions on tax evasion, tax enforcement, profit shifting, redistribution and inequality are particularly welcome. Completed manuscripts are highly encouraged.

Submission deadline: 14th March 2025
Acceptance decision: 31st March 2025

Completed manuscripts must be submitted here. 

The EU Tax Observatory’s annual high-level policy event, “Competition or Cooperation? EU Tax Policies for Tomorrow”, will delve into the dynamic relationship between tax policy, competition, and cooperation within the European Union.

Held at a time of renewed momentum following the launch of the EU Competition Compass, this year’s edition will examine how tax policies can help create a fairer and more competitive economic environment. Discussions will focus on how tax coordination can foster inclusive economic growth, support equality, and align with both EU and international frameworks.

The event will feature a series of high-level panels and keynote speeches, including sessions on the shifting dynamics of corporate tax competition, the impact of unfair wealth tax competition, and the role of tax enforcement in a globalized economy. Prominent speakers include representatives from the European Commission and Parliament, civil society, academia, and business, with voices such as Gerassimos Thomas (European Commission), Pasquale Tridico (European Parliament), Gabriel Zucman (EU Tax Observatory), and Marlene Engelhorn (Tax Me Now) contributing to the dialogue.

Bringing together policymakers, experts, and stakeholders, this event offers a timely platform for shaping the future of EU tax policy.

🎥 The video recording is available on our YouTube channel.

The EU Tax Observatory 

Young Researcher Award in Public Finance

The EU Tax Observatory invites the submission of research papers from PhD students or postdoctoral scholars for its annual Young Researcher Award. The Award encourages and recognizes innovative research in the field of public finance, in particular in the analysis of tax evasion and avoidance, wealth taxation, illicit financial flows, taxation of multinationals and environment related fiscal policies. The nomination of empirical papers with direct implications for EU tax policy is especially encouraged.

Purpose

The increase in global mobility of capital and labour poses significant challenges for national tax systems. Numerous leaks have exposed intricate global structures used to hide personal wealth or avoid corporate income tax. Meanwhile, the rise of the digital economy makes it more difficult to determine the location of value creation, thus fuelling the debate about the international allocation of taxing rights. At the same time, as the risks associated with climate change grow, the need for global, coordinated fiscal policies to reduce environmental externalities has never been more urgent. Governments must work together to implement tax measures that discourage harmful activities, such as carbon emissions and resource depletion, while incentivizing sustainable practices. As a response to these developments, countries have risen to the occasion by reaching international agreements, such as the automatic exchange of information, the global corporate minimum tax or the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism. Nevertheless, their effectiveness in tackling tax evasion, tax avoidance, and environmental harm remains to be studied. Early career researchers are at the frontier of this assessment. Exciting times for tax research!

The Prize

Submissions will be evaluated by the EU Tax Observatory’s award committee based on the following selection criteria: 

• Original research question 
• Scientific quality
• Innovative approach
• Policy relevance

The winner will receive a EUR 2000 award, presented at our high-level event in Brussels on May 13^th, 2025.

Who can apply?

Researchers must be nominated by an academic supervisor. All PhD students or postdoctoral scholars in the field of economics of any nationality and country of residence are eligible. The final decision of the committee will be communicated on April 25^th at the latest. The award recipient must be available to come present their work during the EU Tax Observatory’s event in Brussels on May 13^th, 2025 (accommodation and travel costs will be covered).

How to apply? 

Submit nominations to yr_award@taxobservatory.eu until April 6^th, 2025.

Submissions should include (in PDF format):

• A short recommendation letter by the supervisor (a few paragraphs).
• The research paper.

International Conference on “Taxing Billionaires”

The public event is organized by the PSE Stone Center in collaboration with the EU Tax Observatory, the World Inequality Lab, the Institut des Politiques Publiques, and École Normale Supérieure.

About the Conference

The Taxing Billionaires conference brings together leading researchers, legal scholars, and policymakers to advance the discussion on the effective taxation of the super-rich. Over two days, participants will explore methodologies, share research insights, and discuss coordinated policy solutions. This event aims to address the issue of effective tax rates for the super-rich, with a focus on fostering collaboration and actionable insights across the academic, legal and policy communities.

Key Highlights

📌 Opening Remarks by Gabriel Zucman, Director of the EU Tax Observatory

📌 Fireside Chat with Thomas Piketty, Co-director of the World Inequality Lab

📌 Keynotes by Lucas Chancel, Co-Director of the World Inequality Lab & Camille Landais, Chairman of the Conseil d’analyse économique

📌 Le Grand Débat between Éric Coquerel, MP & the Chair of the Finance Committee and David Amiel, Deputy of the French National Assembly

Day 1: Strengthening Research Collaboration

🔹 Present the latest research on billionaire taxation across multiple countries

🔹 Harmonize methodologies and share best practices

🔹 Explore opportunities for a joint paper or book publication

Day 2: Policy & Legal Perspectives

🔹 Facilitate a dialogue between researchers, legal scholars, and policymakers

🔹 Discuss the feasibility of a coordinated minimum tax on the super-rich

🔹 Engage with policymakers on global and institutional implementation

Participants

Leading researchers from across the world will present country-specific studies on the effective tax rates of billionaires, using consistent methodologies for cross-country comparisons and experts and policymakers from around the globe to help advance actionable steps towards fulfilling this issue.

Why Attend?

✔ Gain insights from cutting-edge research on billionaire taxation
✔ Connect with global experts working on tax fairness and policy reform
✔ Contribute to a discussion on a coordinated minimum tax for billionaires

This event offers a valuable platform to advance the public debate on tax justice and transparency while fostering engagement with key stakeholders, including policymakers and the academic community. Secure your spot today and be part of this important discussion!

Questions? Contact Us: 📧 communication@taxobservatory.eu

🎥 The video recording is available on our YouTube channel.

Profit-shifting in Ireland and Europe: Where do we stand?

The Offshore Talks #2
Crack-Up Capitalism: Market Radicals and the Dream of a World Without Democracy

🎥 The video recording is available on our YouTube channel.

Special Guest: Quinn Slobodian – Professor of international history at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University.

Join us for the second lecture in our Offshore Talks series with Quinn Slobodian, author of Crack-Up Capitalism: Market Radicals and the Dream of a World Without Democracy. Dr Slobodian will delve into how free marketeers are realizing their ultimate goal: an end to nation-states and the constraints of democracy.

In the past decade, globalization has fragmented the world into diverse legal territories—free ports, tax havens, and special economic zones. These spaces have emboldened ultracapitalists to imagine a future free from the oversight of democratic governance. Crack-Up Capitalism traces the journeys of radical libertarians—from Milton Friedman to Peter Thiel—as they seek out the ideal environments for unrestrained capitalism.

This event promises a thought-provoking exploration of economic and intellectual history. With its rich narratives and sharp analysis, Crack-Up Capitalism offers both a fresh perspective on global dynamics and a stark warning about emerging threats to democracy.

📝 Agenda: 

• 12:00 – 12:30 Lunch
• 12:30 – 13:15 Lecture
• 13:15 – 13:45 Panel discussion with Gabriel Zucman
• 13:45 – 14:00 Q&A session

This event is FREE and open to all, but seats are limited! Register by January 27th to secure your place.

The Offshore Talks – An Exploration of Tax Avoidance, Tax Evasion and Illicit Financial Flows

How do the wealthy manage to dodge taxes and hide their fortunes in secret jurisdictions? What is the impact of hidden financial flows on the world economy? It’s time to lift the veil! Join us for The Offshore Talks, a groundbreaking lecture series that dives deep into the world of tax avoidance, tax evasion, and illicit financial flows.

🌍 What’s in Store? Leading voices from economics, law, political science, investigative journalism, and beyond will converge to share their latest research and real-world insights. Get ready for an exciting lineup of distinguished speakers who will help you navigate the hidden mechanisms that shape global inequality.

The Offshore Talks – An Exploration of Tax Avoidance, Tax Evasion and Illicit Financial Flows

How do the wealthy manage to dodge taxes and hide their fortunes in secret jurisdictions? What is the impact of hidden financial flows on the world economy? It’s time to lift the veil! Join us for The Offshore Talks, a groundbreaking lecture series that dives deep into the world of tax avoidance, tax evasion, and illicit financial flows.

🌍 What’s in Store? Leading voices from economics, law, political science, investigative journalism, and beyond will converge to share their latest research and real-world insights. Get ready for an exciting lineup of distinguished speakers who will help you navigate the hidden mechanisms that shape global inequality.

The Offshore Talks #1
The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires

Special Guest: Dr Kristin Surak – Associate Professor of Political Sociology at the London School of Economics

Join us as we launch the series with Dr Kristin Surak, the author of The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires. Dr Surak will present her groundbreaking book on the global market for citizenship. In The Golden Passport, Surak reveals how wealthy individuals can now purchase passports from various countries, gaining increased global mobility and opportunities. Based on a decade of extensive research, she uncovers a hidden industry that shapes global inequality, influences international politics, and challenges traditional notions of national belonging.

Dr Dominika Langenmayr, Professor of Economics at KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, will also share her insights on the rise of citizenship-by-investment programs and how they are being used to conceal offshore holdings.

The Paris School of Economics is pleased to invite you to a lecture by Mordecai Kurz (Stanford University) on the relationship between inequality and technological change.

This event is co-hosted by the PSE Stone Center on Global Wealth Dynamics, the World Inequality Lab and the EU Tax Observatory.

REGISTRATION VIA THIS LINK

Program

14:00 – Welcome by Gabriel Zucman, Director of the PSE Stone Center on Global Wealth Dynamics and the EU Tax Observatory

14:00-14:40 – Lecture by Mordecai Kurz (Stanford University)

14:40-14:50 – Comment by Thomas Piketty, Co-director the World Inequality Lab

14:50-15:00 – Q&A with the audience

Overview

The lecture will be based on Mordecai Kurz’s latest book The Market Power of Technology: Understanding the Second Gilded Age (Columbia University Press, 2023), where he argues that since the 1980s, the United States has regressed to levels of economic inequality not seen since the Gilded Age of the late nineteenth century. Kurz provides a pioneering analysis that quantifies technological market power and its impacts on inequality, innovation, and economic growth. The book also offers detailed proposals to address these inequalities, including restricting corporate mergers and acquisitions, reforming patent law, balancing power in the labor market, increasing taxation, promoting upward mobility, and stabilizing the middle class.

Mordecai Kurz

Mordecai Kurz is Professor Emeritus of Economics at Stanford University. His previous books include Public Investment, the Rate of Return, and Optimal Fiscal Policy (with Kenneth J. Arrow, 1970) and Endogenous Economic Fluctuations: Studies in the Theory of Rational Beliefs (1997), and he has published widely across many fields of economic theory.

Read more

• “How Capitalism Became a Threat to Democracy“, Project Syndicate, March 15, 2024
• “Market Power Is Permanent, and Technological Competition Does Not Remove It“, Project Syndicate, December 1, 2023

The Paris School of Economics (PSE) and the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) are glad to organize the second edition of the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum. The 2024 edition will focus on the theme:

Exploring the Science of the Brazil G20: Building a just world and a sustainable planet

• Dates: From Wednesday, June 5, to Friday, June 7, 2024
• Venue: Paris School of Economics
  48 boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris

The PSE-CEPR Policy Forum 2024 will be devoted to discussing emerging issues among leading researchers and policymakers, reaching a large audience that includes government officials and legislators, the media and the academia.

Program

Wednesday June 5 | International Taxation | Detailed program

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR JUNE 5

Keynote Lecture: Gabriel Zucman (PSE, École normale supérieure – PSL, EU Tax Observatory, CEPR)

Policy Conversation:

• Marie Jose Garde (Deputy Director for International Taxation at the Ministerio de Hacienda and Chair of the Global Forum of the OECD)
• Gabriel Zucman (PSE, École normale supérieure – PSL, EU Tax Observatory, CEPR)

Thursday June 6 | Climate Change Compensation | Detailed program

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR JUNE 6

Keynote Lecture: Esther Duflo (PSE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, CEPR)

Policy Conversation:

• Shameran Abed (Executive Director of BRAC International)
• Esther Duflo (PSE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, CEPR)

Daniel Cohen Prize:
Ceremony Award Winner of the Daniel Cohen Prize

• Presentation of the Daniel Cohen Prize to Nina Buchmann, doctoral student at Stanford University, by Michel Cohen, Daniel Cohen’s brother
• In the presence of Esther Duflo, chair of the award committee and of the association des anciens élèves de l’Ecole Normale (A-Ulm) which is funding this year’s prize

Friday June 7 | Global Poverty | Detailed program

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR JUNE 7

Keynote Lecture:
Abhijit Banerjee (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, CEPR)

Policy Conversation:

• Iffath A. Sharif (Global Director, Social Protection and Jobs at the World Bank)
• Abhijit Banerjee (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, CEPR)

Organizers:
Edouard Challe (PSE, CNRS, CEPR)
Esther Duflo (PSE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, CEPR)
Jean-Olivier Hairault (PSE, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
Francesco Pappadà (PSE, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)
Beatrice Weder di Mauro (Geneva Graduate Institute, INSEAD, CEPR)