Research group in Public Economics

Research topics

The Public Economics Group has been concerned with two broad research questions: individual decision making and behaviour by consumers and firms, and the implications of such behaviour for the design of public policy.

These questions have been studied for a wide range of microeconomic applications:

  • Taxation: the effects of taxes on labour supply, savings and risk taking behaviour, and the design of income tax and transfer schemes
  • Cost-Benefit-Analysis: the development of cost-benefit rules for selecting among public projects in economic environments that are characterized by market imperfections;
  • Health Care Markets: choice by patients among health care providers, the financing of health care providers, and quality competition in hospital markets.
  • Pharmaceutical Industry: the effects of various regulatory schemes on competition, pricing and pharmaceutical expenditures.
  • Risk Sharing Markets: characterisation of attitudes towards risk and the organization of insurance markets. Networks

Networks

Members of the group are active in several national and international networks: The CESifo network, the International Institute of Public Finance, the Norwegian Tax Research Programme, the Nordic Workshops on Tax Policy and Public Economics, Health Economics Bergen, the European Health Economic Theory Network, and the European Group of Risk and Insurance Economists.

Research output

Recent research results of the Public Economics Group may be found in top journals like the Journal of Economic Theory, Management Science, European Economic Review, and in leading field journals like the Journal of Public Economics, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Health Economics, National Tax Journal, and International Tax and Public Finance.

Researchers
 

Kurt R. Brekke D4, I1, L1, L3, L4, L65, M3, R1
Kåre Petter Hagen D2, D6, D8, G11, H1, H2, H3, H4, L5, L96
Karl Rolf Pedersen F34, F35
Agnar Sandmo B1, B2, D1, D2, D6, G11, H1, H2, H3, H4
Fred Schroyen D1, D6, D8, H2, H3, H4, I1

Faculty members related to the research group in Public Economics also include Øystein Thøgersen (see research group in Macroeconomics).

The Public Economics Group has two adjunct members: