Seminar (SoSe 25): Empirisches Forschungsprojekt: Wie stark reagieren Firmen auf Unternehmenssteuersenkungen?

Beschreibung: Gemeinsam mit Mitarbeitern des Lehrstuhls wird ein empirisches Forschungsprojekt durchgeführt. Das Seminar beginnt mit einer Einführung in relevante methodische Grundlagen und einer hands-on-Einführung in empirisches Arbeiten in der Praxis. Das Seminar umfasst die Konzeption eines Forschungsprojektes, Datenaufbereitung und Datenanalyse und das Verfassen des Forschungspapiers. Es finden regelmäßige Projektgruppentreffen mit Mitarbeitenden des Lehrstuhls statt. Im Zentrum steht die Frage, ob und in welchem Maß Unternehmenssteuersenkungen das Verhalten von Firmen verändern. Datengrundlage sind umfassende Bilanzinformationen zu Firmen in Europa.

Organisation: Das erste Treffen findet am Montag, den 7. April um 8:30 Uhr in Raum STA 1 statt.

Sie können sich entweder per E-Mail am Lehrstuhl für das Seminar anmelden oder im Nachgang an das erste Treffen. Bei Fragen wenden Sie sich gerne an nadine.riedel@wiwi.uni-muenster.de. 

Seminar (Summer Term 2025): FDI and Development (Topics in Policy Evaluation)

Description: Multinational enterprises are at the centre of policy debates in low- and middle-income countries. As some of the most productive and innovative firms in the world, which are at the core of global supply chains, multinational enterprises (MNEs) can accelerate development in the countries hosting them, both directly with their presence, and indirectly through linkages to local economic actors. At the same time, when MNEs operate in lower-income countries, they are often blamed for environmental degradation (especially in extractive sectors), crowding out productive local firms, undermining good governance, and having lax labour standards.

In this seminar, we  review the effects of MNEs  on lower-income economies. Specifically, we examine

• how MNEs affect labor markets, in particular wages, employment and labor standards;
• how MNEs affect domestic firms through supplier/buyer relationships and technology spillovers; 
• the effects of MNEs on the environment;
• and the role of multinationals in sectors devoted to natural resource extraction.

Prerequisites: The seminar exposes participants to academic work at the current research frontier. It is particularly suited for students with a strong background and interest in empirical microeconomics.

Organisation: Interested students can register for the seminar until  March 15 by sending an email to tobias.boehm@uni-muenster.de. If the seminar is oversubscribed, preference is given to students with a strong background in empirical microeconomics.  An introductory meeting takes place in the beginning of April. To obtain credits, participants have to write a seminar paper (15-20 pages) and give a presentation (presumably around mid June).

In case of any question, please feel free to send an email to tobias.boehm@uni-muenster.de.

Seminar (Summer Term 2025): Independent Research on Tax Policy

Description: The aim of this seminar is to give students first-hand experience in independent academic research. Students will be assigned - based on their interest - to one of two groups. Group 1 will write a policy paper that aims to provide policymakers with a comprehensive perspective on what we know from the theoretical and empirical acedemic literature on the effect of certain tax policy instruments on economic activity and to formulate policy implications mthat follow from the academic insights. The second group of students writes a scientific paper targeted to an academic audience. The paper will be empirical in nature and will assess the effect of tax policy on firm and/or household behaviour. 

Organisation: If you are interested in this seminar, please join us for the first meeting on Tuesday, April 8 at 8.30am in STA 2. 

In case of any questions, do not hesitate to contact us under nadine.riedel@wiwi.uni-muenster.de.