CEBI receives funding for four more years

Almost six years have gone since CEBI was launched. What kind of work can you now build on?

Claus Thustrup Kreiner: "In the first period, we have carried out excellent research, published in some of the best economic journals worldwide. Furthermore, we have built an extensive data infrastructure: We have our own server at Statistics Denmark. We have a full-time data manager. This gives us a fantastic platform for new research on economic behaviour and inequality."

What is the significance of the new four-year grant from the DNRF?

"It will have an enormous impact. If we had not received the grant from the Danish National Research Foundation, we would have had to cancel many of the new plans we have made for the coming years. The grant also means a lot to the Department of Economics, both in terms of research and financially. It is very rare in the research world to be future-proofed for such a long time. It gives us the opportunity to build something big."

What will CEBI focus on in the coming years?

"Our first research plan was very exploratory by linking different types of data including experimental data with registry data. Now we know what we can do by combining data. With our new research plan, we're going to be a bit more focused. We're going to dive into some of the same topics, but we're also going to explore completely new areas."

Can you tell us about some of your new projects?

"We will study how shocks flow through the economy and affect inequality. We will link Statistics Denmark's data on people's labour and income with transaction data on everything people spend their money on. It's a big project where we will reach a very detailed level and see how socio-economic shocks move throughout the economy."

"We also have plans for something completely new on the policy side, which is about behavioural responses to policy. We will study the new international measures against tax havens that have been adopted under the auspices of the OECD. Member countries have introduced automatic exchange of bank information. However, the OECD cannot evaluate these measures as the organisation is not a tax authority. Our project involves a collaboration with Skat, where we will have access to data and help develop the principles for the selection and control carried out by Skat."

Before CEBI can unfold the plans for the coming years' research, Claus Thustrup Kreiner must negotiate the final contract details with the Danish National Research Foundation.