Arnaldur Stefansson

• Medarbetarportalen vid Uppsala universitet (kräver inloggning)

Arnaldur Stefansson är postdoktor i nationalekonomi vid Institutet för bostads- och urbanforskning, Uppsala universitet, sedan 2021.

Arnaldurs huvudsakliga forskningsintresset handlar om utformningen av skatte-, pension- och bostadspolitik. I sitt arbete har han, bland annat, studerat hur 1) bostadsförmögenhet och bostadspolitik påverkar konsumtion, 2) effekten av obligatoriskt pensionssparande på det totala sparandet och konsumtion och 3) hur skatt påverkar arbetsutbud och hur friktioner påverkar skattning av strukturella parametrar.

Du hittar mer information om mig på min hemsida.

CV

• 2021-pågående: Postdoktor i nationalekonomi vid Institutet för bostads- och urbanforskning, Uppsala universitet
• 2020-2021: Wallander stipendiat, Institutionen för nationalekonomi med statistik, Handelshögskolan, Göteborgs universitet
• 2019: Forskare, Nationalekonomiska institutionen, Uppsala University
• 2014-2019: Ph.D. i nationalekonomi, Uppsala universitet
• 2017: Utbytesdoktorand, Department of Economics, University of Chicago
• 2014: Forskningsassistent, London School of Economics and Political Science
• 2013: M.Sc. i nationalekonomi, University College London
• 2012: B.A. in i nationalekonomi med matematik, University of Iceland

1. Pågående forskning

2. Working papers

Labor Supply Response to a Tax Holiday: The Take-Home from a Large and Salient Shock

Finalist at ITAX PhD Student Award 2018

Abstract: I study how individuals intertemporally adjust their labor supply during a year in which labor income was tax-free (a tax holiday). In a difference-in-difference setting, exploiting a progressive tax scheme, I estimate an intensive margin elasticity of 0.06. There is no evidence of an extensive margin response. It is possible that individuals face stronger frictions in adjusting their labor supply during the tax holiday than in the long run, Therefore, I exploit an additional tax reform, combined with the tax holiday, to show that the data is consistent with a tax holiday elasticity of 0.05 and a structural intertemporal elasticity of 0.4.

Neoclassical Theory versus Loss Aversion: Evidence from Tax Filing Data

(with Per Engström and Katarina Nordblom)

Abstract: A fundamental tenet of economics is that agents respond to incentives. When filing their tax returns, Swedish taxpayers get information about whether they can expect a tax refund or having taxes due and about whether they are below or above a salient tax kink. This information may affect behavior depending on taxpayer motives. The former would induce loss averse taxpayers to claim deductions to a higher degree if having taxes due than if expecting a refund, while the latter would make the rational taxpayer more likely to claim deductions when facing the higher marginal tax rate. Access to register data on the universe of Swedish taxpayers for eight years allows for a clear-cut analysis using an RKD framework. We find strong causal effects of taxes due on the probability of claiming deductions, while the responses to the standard monetary incentives are insignificant. We find similar results for both inexperienced (young) and experienced (old) taxpayers. Hence, for both types of taxpayers, loss aversion is much more decisive than neoclassical incentives.