skatteøkonomisk

Skatteøkonomi, or tax economics in English, is the branch of economics that studies how taxation affects behavior, incentives, resource allocation, and overall welfare. It analyzes how taxes raise government revenue while creating costs in terms of efficiency and equity, and how tax design shapes economic activity.

Key concepts include tax incidence, the distribution of the tax burden between labor, capital, and consumers; elasticities of labor supply, saving, and investment; and the welfare costs of taxation, often expressed as deadweight loss. The field also considers administrative costs, compliance behavior, and the opportunities for tax planning and avoidance, as well as the complexity of tax rules.

Policy design in skatteøkonomi involves balancing equity and efficiency, choosing tax bases and rates, ensuring simplicity and neutrality across sectors, and evaluating dynamic effects on growth and investment. Analysts compare income taxes, consumption taxes (such as VAT), property taxes, and capital gains taxes, and assess the impact of international tax rules, tax treaties, and competition between jurisdictions. Carbon taxes and other environmentally related taxes are also analyzed for both revenue and behavioral incentives.

Empirical work in this area uses microdata, natural experiments, and economic models to estimate responses to tax changes, revenue outcomes, and welfare impacts. Debates often focus on optimal tax progressivity, the size of the welfare losses from distortion, and the trade-offs between income and consumption taxation. Skatteøkonomi informs policymakers, researchers, and institutions in designing tax systems that fund public goods while preserving efficiency and fair treatment.