Professor Christopher Heady

Profile

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Professor of Economics

Room: Lg.14 Keynes
Telephone: +44 1227 824155
Email: Christopher Heady

Christopher Heady is Professor of Economics. He was an undergraduate at Cambridge University and obtained his PhD at Yale University. His main academic appointments have been as Assistant Professor at Yale (1976-79), Lecturer and then Reader at University College London (1979-90), and Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Bath (1990-2000). He has also held visiting appointments at the Universities of Aarhus (Denmark), Queens (Canada) and Warwick. In June 2000 he joined the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and was Head of its Tax Policy and Statistics division until March 2009.

He is currently also a Senior Research Fellow at the Department for International Development and an International Research Fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He has undertaken consultancies for the World Bank, the National Radiological Protection Board, the Asian Development Bank, the Department for International Development and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has obtained research grants from the (U.S.) National Science Foundation, the Economic and Social Research Council, the World Bank, the Leverhulme Trust, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Overseas Development Administration and the European Commission.

Research

Research interests

Christopher's research interests are all related to the microeconomic analysis of public policy issues in both developed and developing countries, using both theoretical and empirical analysis. The topics he has researched include taxation, trade policy, public investment and pricing, social security, poverty and deprivation, labour supply, child labour, sustainable livelihoods, natural resources and environmental policy.

Current projects

Most of Christopher's current research is focussed on two areas:

  • The Mirrlees Review, http://www.ifs.org.uk/mirrleesreview, which is a major international project on how tax systems should be reformed to meet the needs of the 21st century.
  • The relationship between taxation and economic growth, building on a project that he jointly led while at the OECD.

List of current work

Taxation in the UK, with S. Adam and J. Browne. http://www.ifs.org.uk/mirrleesreview/reports/uktax.pdf

Tax and Economic Growth, with Å. Johansson, J. Arnold, B. Brys and L. Vartia. OECD Economics School Working Paper, No. 620. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/58/3/41000592.pdf

Taxes and Firm Performance: Evidence from the OECD, with Å. Johansson, J. Arnold, B. Brys and L. Vartia. Presented at a major tax policy conference hosted by Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand in February 2009.

Tax Policy for Economic Recovery and Growth, with Å. Johansson, J. Arnold, B. Brys and L. Vartia.

Directions in Overseas Tax Policy, paper was prepared for the Australia’s Future Tax and Transfer Policy Conference 2009, at the Melbourne Institute, 18-19th June 2009.

Publications

Articles
  • “Child farm labor: the wealth paradox” (with S. Bhalotra), World Bank Economic Review, Vol. 17, No. 2, 197-227, 2004.
  • “The effect of child labor on learning achievement”, World Development, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 385-398, 2003.
  • “The distributional impact of social transfers in the European Union: evidence from the ECHP” (with T. Mitrakos and P. Tsakloglou), Fiscal Studies, vol. 22, No. 4, 2001, 547-565.
  • “Natural resource sustainability and poverty reduction”, Environment and Development Economics, vol. 5, 2000, 241-258.
  • “Local government finance and industrial policy in China”, Economics of Planning, vol. 31, 1998, 195-212.
  • "Social security reform for economic transition: the case of the Czech Republic", (with F. Coulter, C. Lawson and S. Smith) Journal of Public Economics, vol. 66, 1997, 313-326.
  • "Labour market transitions and social exclusion", Journal of European Social Policy, vol. 7 (2), 1997, 119-128.
  • "Fiscal systems in transition: The case of the Czech Income Tax", (with F. Coulter, C. Lawson and S. Smith), Europe-Asia Studies, 47 (1995), 1007-1023.
  • "Implicit and explicit social policy in the Czech and Slovak personal tax systems", (with F. Coulter, C. Lawson and S. Smith), Journal of European Social Policy, 5 (1995), 219-234.
  • "Simplifying the Czechoslovak Personal Income Tax", (with F. Coulter, C. Lawson and S. Smith), Prague Economic Papers, II/2 (1993), 131-146.
  • "Tax reform and economic transition in the Czech Republic", (with N. Rajah and S. Smith), Fiscal Studies, 15/1 (1994), 64-80.
  • "Optimal taxation as a guide to tax policy", Fiscal Studies, vol. 14, no. 1 (1993), 15-41.
  • "The working behaviour of young people in rural Cote d'Ivoire: evidence from the LSMS panel", (with R. Alessie, P. Baker, R. Blundell and C. Meghir). The World Bank Economic Review, 6 (1992), 139-154.
  • "Commodity taxation with administered and free market prices: theory and an application to China", (with P.K. Mitra), Journal of Public Economics, 47 (1992), 207-225.
  • "The take-up of means-tested benefits by working families with children", (with R. Dorsett), Fiscal Studies, 19 (1991), No. 4, 22-32.
  • "Investment and shadow pricing in a growing economy with tax restrictions", (with C. Harris and P.K. Mitra), Journal of Public Economics, 39 (1989), 289-313.
  • "Agricultural prices and natural resource management", (with S. Barrett) The IUCN Sahel Studies, 1989, (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources), 115-124.
  • "Tax design and household composition", (with A. Ebrahimi), Economic Journal, supplement, 98 (1988), 83-96.
  • "Alternative theories of wages in less developed countries: an empirical test", Journal of Development Studies, 24 (1987), 5-15.
  • "A diagrammatic approach to optimal commodity taxation", Public Finance, 42 (1987), 250-263.
  • "Designing taxes with migration", Economic Journal, supplement, 97 (1987), 87-98.
  • "Distributional and revenue raising arguments for tariffs", (with P.K. Mitra), Journal of Development Economics, 26 (1987), 77-101.
  • "Optimal taxation and public production in an open dual economy" (with P.K. Mitra), Journal of Public Economics, 30 (1986), 293-316.
  • "Restricted redistributive taxation, shadow prices and trade policy" (with P.K. Mitra), Journal of Public Economics, 17 (1982), 1 22.
  • "Shadow wages and induced migration", Oxford Economic Papers, 33 (1981), 108 121.
  • "The computation of optimum linear taxation" (with P.K. Mitra), Review of Economic Studies, 47 (1980), 567 585.
  • "Stagflation in an open economy" (with R.A. Brecher), Oxford Economic Papers, 31 (1979), 165 176.
Books
  • Tax Policy: Theory and Practice in OECD Countries (with K. Messere and F. de Kam), Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2003.
  • Poverty and Social Exclusion in Europe (with M. Barnes, S. Middleton, J. Millar, F. Papadopoulos and P. Tsakloglou), Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 2002.
  • Fiscal Management and Economic Reform in the People's Republic of China, (with C. Wong and W. Woo), Oxford University Press, Hong Kong, 1995, 271pp.
Contributions to Books
  • "A computational approach to optimum public policies" (with P.K. Mitra) in A. Manne (editor), Economic Equilibrium: Model Formulation and Solution, (North Holland, Amsterdam), 1985, 95 120.
  • "Optimum taxation and shadow pricing in a developing country" (with P.K. Mitra) in D. Newbery and N. Stern (editors), The Theory of Taxation for Developing Countries, (Oxford University Press), 1987, 407-425.
  • "The structure of income and commodity taxation", in P.G. Hare (editor), Surveys in Public Sector Economics, (Basil Blackwell), 1988, 186-216.
  • "The conflict between equity and efficiency in designing personal income tax systems", in The Role of Tax Reform in Central and Eastern European Economies, 1991, (OECD, Paris) 87-96.
  • "Public expenditure and tax policy for economic development" in D. Bös (ed.) Economics in a Changing World, volume 3, 1993, (London: Macmillan), 100-117.
  • "Cote d'Ivoire", (with R. Blundell and R. Medhora) in S. Horton, R. Kanbur and D. Mazumdar (eds.), Labor Markets in an Era of Adjustment, Vol. 2, World Bank, Washington D.C., 1994. pp. 259-315.
  • "Tax and benefit reform in the Czech and Slovak Republics", (with S. Smith), in D. Newbery (ed.), Tax and Benefit Reform in Central and Eastern Europe, Centre for Economic Policy Research, London, 1995, pp. 19-48.
  • "The role of subnational governments: theory and international practice", in C. Wong (ed.), Financing Local Government in the People's Republic of China, Oxford University Press, Hong Kong, 1997. pp. 61-81.
  • "Municipal Public Finance", in C. Wong (ed.), Financing Local Government in the People's Republic of China, Oxford University Press, Hong Kong, 1997. pp. 127-166.
  • "Policy recommendations", (with C. Wong) in C. Wong (ed.), Financing Local Government in the People's Republic of China, Oxford University Press, Hong Kong, 1997. pp. 313-333.
  • "A microsimulation model of personal tax and social security benefits in the Czech Republic", (with F. Coulter, C. Lawson, S. Smith and G. Stark), in M. Pearson (ed.), Tax Modelling in Economies in Transition, London: Macmillan, 1998. pp. 163-189.
  • "Marginal effective tax rates in the reformed tax system" (with Y.B. Shi), in D. Brean (ed.), Taxation in Modern China, Routledge, New York, 1998. pp. 69-91.
  • “Sustainability, access and equity: tropical floodplain fisheries in three Asian countries”, (with J.A. McGregor and A. Winnett) in A. Warhurst (editor), Towards and Environmental Research Agenda, Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2000.
  • “Child activities in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa: A comparative analysis”, (with S. Bhalotra) in P. Lawrence and C. Thirtle (editors), Africa and Asia in Comparative Development, Macmillan, London, 2001.
  • “Tax design, economic efficiency and growth in Europe” (with P. van den Noord) in Banca d’Italia, The Impact of Fiscal Policy, Rome, 2002.
  • “Trends in tax burdens”, in A. Jolly (editor), OECD Economies and the World Today, Kogan Page, London, 2003, 69-73.
  • “Environmentally related taxes” (with J.-Ph. Barde and N. A. Braathen), in A. Jolly (editor), OECD Economies and the World Today, Kogan Page, London, 2003, 74-76.
  • “Tackling Poverty and Social Exclusion” (with G. Room) in E. Apospori and J. Millar (editors), The Dynamics of Social Exclusion in Europe, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 2003.
  • “The ‘Taxing Wages’ approach to measuring the tax burden on labour”, in P.B. Sørensen (editor), Measuring the Tax Burden on Capital and Labor, MIT Press, 2004.
  • “Taxation policy in low-income countries” in T. Addison and A. Roe (editors), Fiscal Policy for Development, Oxford University Press, 2004.
  • “Rewarding jobs: government policy and work incentives” (with H. Immervol), in Statistics, Knowledge and Policy, OECD, Paris, 2005.
  • “Fishery management and employment generation in Bangladesh” in T. Akram, A. Hossain and F. Khan (editors), Economic Analysis of Contemporary Issues in Bangladesh, University Press Ltd, Dhaka, 2006.
  • “A joint OECD-EU project to calculate the tax burden on labour and incentives to work” in G. Carone and A. Salomäki (editors), Indicators and Policies to Make Work Pay, European Economy Special Report No. 2/2005, European Commission, Brussels, 2006.
  • “Tax policy for growth” in Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (ed.), Fiscal Policy: Fiscal Elements of Growth and Development, Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, Ankara, 2008.
  • “Taxation in the UK” (with S. Adam and J. Browne) in the second volume of the Mirrlees Review - Reforming the Tax System for the 21st Century: Dimensions of Tax Design, Oxford University Press, Oxford, forthcoming.
  • “Taxes and Firm Performance: Evidence from the OECD”, (with Å. Johansson, J. Arnold, B. Brys and L. Vartia), in I. Claus, N. Gemmell, M. Harding and D. White (eds), Tax Reform in a Globalising World: International and Country Examples, Edward Elgar, forthcoming.

Teaching

Undergraduate