BEA521 Tax policy and multinational firms

• Topics

  This course analyzes the strategic choices of multinational firms with respect to the international tax environment, and the responses of governments to limit international tax arbitrage. The lectures introduce students to the recent theoretical and empirical research on tax policy towards multinational firms, covering both the real investment decisions (FDI) and the profit-shifting decisions of multinationals. Along the way, the institutional setup for the taxation of multinational firms will be introduced and current policy proposals such as the OECD's "Base erosion and profit shifting" (BEPS) initiative will be discussed.

  • Lecture 1: Capital mobility and tax competition: Basic theory
  • Lecture 2: Capital tax competition: Empirical evidence
  • Lecture 3: Multinationals¿ investment choices and tax competition: Theory
  • Lecture 4: Taxes and foreign direct investment: Empirical evidence
  • Lecture 5: Profit shifting in multinational firms: Empirical overview
  • Lecture 6: National policies against profit shifting: Theory and evidence
  • Lecture 7: Profit shifting and tax havens
  • Lecture 8: Current policy issues: BEPS, patent boxes and the Global Minimum Tax

• Learning outcome

  Knowledge

  Upon successful completion of the course, the student is able to

  • assess and interpret advanced-level theories and empirical evidence on multinationals¿ tax arbitrage activities and international tax competition.
  • identify different responses of multinational firms operating in an international tax environment.
  • compare different empirical approaches of how to quantify multinationals' responses to international tax differentials

  .

  Skills

  Upon successful completion of the course, the student is able to

  • employ an analytical toolset that enables advanced, high-quality research on issues of international corporate taxation and tax competition.
  • evaluate and critically compare different empirical approaches in this research field.
  • develop empirical or theoretical research questions that relate to the international tax strategies of both firms and governments.

  General competence

  Upon successful completion of the course, the student is able to

  • critically reflect on advanced theories of how countries try to attract foreign direct investment and profits of multinational firms.
  • present the essentials of a current research article in the field and work out its contribution to the academic literature as well as to current policy debates.
  • present and discuss own research on international corporate taxation in an academic forum

• Teaching

  The course consists of 8 lectures (90 minutes each). In addition, there is an open number of student presentations of 45 minutes each. These presentations are optional and are targeted primarily at PhD students who already have a research paper in the topic area of the course. The course will be given in person.

• Restricted access

  The course is open to all students in a Norwegian PhD program

• Recommended prerequisites

  Graduate-level courses in microeconomic theory and econometrics

• Credit reduction due to overlap

  None.

• Compulsory Activity

  None.

• Assessment

  The final grade will consist of a 3 hour written school exam (100%). The exam language is English and all answers need to be given in English as well.

  Re-take is offered the semester after the course was offered for students who signed up for the initial evaluation.

• Grading Scale

  Pass-Fail

• Literature

  Devereux, M., Loretz, S. (2013): What do we know about corporate tax competition? National Tax Journal 66(3), 745-773.

  Keen, M., Konrad, K. (2013): The theory of international tax competition and coordination. Handbook of Public Economics, Volume 5, Ch. 5, 257-328.