Profiles of University of Michigan Faculty Experts in State and Local Policy Areas
Professor Joel Slemrod
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Director, Office of Tax Policy Research, Ross School of Business Professor of Economics, Department of Economics Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, Ross School of Business Years On UM Faculty: 18 Faculty website Contact Info |
Regarding how his research has been affected by interactions with policy practitioners, Professor Slemrod states:
"Dealing with people in the real world alerts me to developments and current issues related to tax policy. In the past, professionals in the policy world have suggested research topics to me that they believed would inform the public policy debate."
EXPERTISE
Tax policy: federal tax system, economics of taxes, impacts of tax policies on the economy.
CURRENT RESEARCH
"Corporate Tax Avoidance and the Effectiveness of Investment Tax Incentives," with Estelle Dauchy and Claudia Martinez. This study seeks to clarify the relationship between corporate tax avoidance activity and the incentive to invest. Understanding this relationship is especially critical due to the fact that corporate tax avoidance has grown in recent years and may have contributed to the prevalence of companies who have losses rather than profits. This study will determine whether successful tax avoidance undermines the effectiveness of federal tax incentives designed to encourage business investment.
CURRENT CLOSUP-SPONSORED PROJECT
"Taxation as a Public Health Instrument: Lessons from Cigarette Taxation". The taxation of cigarettes raises ethical issues about the singling out a segment of society on the basis of its tastes, political issues concerning the paternalistic role of government, public health issues about the social costs of smoking, and economic questions such as the effectiveness of price increases in suppressing demand. A comprehensive treatment of cigarette taxation issues thus requires a cross-disciplinary approach, bringing together ethicists, political scientists, public health scholars, and economists who study taxation. This project will host a conference to generate new policy-relevant research and investigate these issues.
NON-UM AFFILIATIONS/EXPERIENCE
- National Tax Association, Vice President, 2003-present
- Tax Policy Center of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, Advisory Board Member, 2002-present
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Research Associate, 1985-present
- Congressional Budget Office Panel of Economic Advisers, Member, 1996-2004
- Council of Economic Advisers, Senior Staff Economist, 1984-1985
