Laura Seelkopf
Biographic Data
| ID | 387024 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Laura Seelkopf |
| GIVEN NAMES | Laura |
| FAMILY NAME | Seelkopf |
| SIGNATURE | SEELKOPF L |
| AFFILIATIONS | Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2251-3830 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 135 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 20 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Invisible taxation: Women and the Tax State
Failing through success? How stable liberal orders become self-destabilising
The climate crisis, policy distraction and support for fuel taxation
The climate crisis looms but support for fuel taxation is low. How to boost support? The obvious way is to make the connection to the climate crisis explicit. Many observers fear, however, that policy myopia renders this strategy ineffective: As the consequences of the climate crisis are long‐term and insecure, people are loath to pay for costly countermeasures in the short term. We look at policy distraction as a second potential drag. We argue …
Aid for taxation and representation? The effect of foreign tax assistance on democracy in the Global South
Breaking with Orthodoxy? German Fiscal Policy in the Shadow of Covid-19
The Covid pandemic confronted the Merkel IV government with unprecedented fiscal challenges. We argue that the government's response to these challenges constitutes a break with established patterns of German fiscal policy orthodoxy in at least three areas. First, the government suspended the debt brake and gave up the 'Schwarze Null' without much debate. Second, it implemented a fiscal rescue package that struck a new balance between the interes…
Revenue, Redistribution, and the Rise and Fall of Inheritance Taxation
Why do countries repeal the inheritance tax? To investigate this question, we use a novel dataset on inheritance tax introductions and repeals worldwide. We argue that revenue requirements are the main determinant of repeal risks: The inheritance tax is resilient as long as it is central to the national revenue system; it becomes vulnerable to attacks once the rise of more efficient tax instruments marginalizes its revenue contribution. Devoid of…
Mass Warfare and the Development of the Modern Welfare State: An Analysis of the Western World, 1914–1950
The impact of war on the development of welfare states in the Western world has recently attracted growing attention (Castles, Journal of European Social Policy, 20, 91–101, 2010; Rehm, Risk Inequality and Welfare States. Social Policy Preferences, Development, and Dynamics. Cambridge University Press, 2016; Obinger et al., Warfare and Welfare. Military Conflict and Welfare State Development in Western Countries. Oxford University Press, 2018). T…
Left by the left? The politics of poverty alleviation
Research shows that low-income groups are increasingly left behind economically and excluded from the policy-making process of advanced democratic societies. This suggests that governments do not sufficiently address the needs of the poor. In this article, we explore to what extent labour power positively influences redistribution and policies for society overall and for the poor in specific. Following standard political economy arguments, a powe…
The historical origins of wealth taxation
Which factors have driven wealth taxation over the long run of history? We look at a new dataset on the first permanent introduction of taxes on net wealth, i.e., recurrent taxes levied based on the absolute value of an individual’s financial assets, to answer this question. First, we place the introduction of wealth taxation in the historical genesis of the modern tax state. We find that recurrent taxes on net wealth are a more recent, yet less …
Democracy and the global spread of progressive taxes
The adoption of modern tax policies is crucial for social development. Taxes raise revenue, which allows governments to invest in public goods and social protection. At the same time, they can be highly redistributive and thus are complementary to social policies. Hence, the adoption of modern taxes is a critical step towards social development as it allows for the very financial foundation for investing in and increasing the well-being of indivi…
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 17? An Empirical Investigation of the Effectiveness of Aid Given to Boost Developing Countries’ Tax Revenue and Capacity
Developing economies need to increase their tax revenue. The international community is keenly aware of this challenge and recently dedicated substantial resources and advocacy to assist countries in mobilizing domestic tax revenue as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Considering, however, the extensive research that foreign aid is often ineffective, it is not obvious that this tax assistance will help developing countries raise revenue.…
Social Policy by Other Means: Theorizing Unconventional Forms of Welfare Production
The goal of this special issue is to highlight the importance of unconventional social policies, theorize their development in comparison with traditional welfare state accounts and outline a new research agenda. In this introduction to the special issue, the editors present the concept of social policy by other means as encompassing two kinds of unconventional social policy (from the point of view of mainstream comparative research): First, func…
Dictators don't compete: Autocracy, democracy, and tax competition
It pays to be a tax haven. Ireland has become rich that way. Why do not all countries cut their capital taxes to get wealthy? One reason is structural. As the standard model of tax competition explains, small countries gain from competitive tax cuts while large countries suffer. Yet not all small (large) countries have low (high) capital taxes. Why? The reason, we argue, is political. While the standard model assumes governments to be democratic,…
Did they learn to tax? Taxation trends outside the OECD
We map trends of tax policy change in developing countries and transition economies since the 1980s, compare them to tax trends in the advanced Western democracies and review some of the explanations offered by the contributions to this volume. We find that non-Western countries follow the lead of Western countries in some important respects but not in others. While non-Western countries brought their general revenues closer to Western levels and…
Trade liberalization and the global expansion of modern taxes
For a long time, governments relied heavily on trade taxes as the main source of public finance, and for some countries, mainly less developed ones, they still account for a large share of revenue. Yet, with trade liberalization, governments have been forced to abandon these easy-to-collect taxes and to adopt modern hard-to-collect taxes, mainly internal income and consumption taxes. Surprisingly, we know little about how governments across the w…
Happy taxation: Increasing Tax Compliance Through Positive Rewards
Can governments increase tax compliance by rewarding honest taxpayers? We conducted a controlled laboratory experiment comparing tax compliance under a “deterrence” baseline with tax compliance under two “reward” treatments: a “donation” treatment giving taxpayers a say in the spending purposes of their payments and a “lucky” treatment giving taxpayers the (highly unlikely) chance of winning a lottery. The reward treatments significantly affected…
The Competition State
Capital markets and tax policy making: A comparative analysis of European tax reforms since the crisis
Room to Manoeuvre? International Financial Markets and the National Tax State
Globalisation has triggered a downwards trend in direct taxation as governments compete for internationally mobile capital. This popular postulation has blurred the attention to potential upward constraints on tax policy-making emanating from globalised capital markets. In this paper, we illustrate when and how capital markets exert an upward pressure on taxes. While the increasing access to international capital allowed governments in developed …
The Global Emergence of Social Protection: Explaining Social Security Legislation 1820-2013
Comparative welfare state research is directed mainly toward the development of welfare states in advanced democracies, although the majority of people live outside the OECD and often face graver social risks arising from poverty and starvation. To secure a minimum standard of living, nearly all countries have introduced social programs to protect their citizens. Yet the timing of when governments take on the responsibility of providing social pr…
The Global Emergence of Social Protection: Explaining Social Security Legislation 1820-2013
Comparative welfare state research is directed mainly toward the development of welfare states in advanced democracies, although the majority of people live outside the OECD and often face graver social risks arising from poverty and starvation. To secure a minimum standard of living, nearly all countries have introduced social programs to protect their citizens. Yet the timing of when governments take on the responsibility of providing social pr…
Happy taxation: Increasing Tax Compliance Through Positive Rewards
Can governments increase tax compliance by rewarding honest taxpayers? We conducted a controlled laboratory experiment comparing tax compliance under a “deterrence” baseline with tax compliance under two “reward” treatments: a “donation” treatment giving taxpayers a say in the spending purposes of their payments and a “lucky” treatment giving taxpayers the (highly unlikely) chance of winning a lottery. The reward treatments significantly affected…
Social Policy by Other Means: Theorizing Unconventional Forms of Welfare Production
The goal of this special issue is to highlight the importance of unconventional social policies, theorize their development in comparison with traditional welfare state accounts and outline a new research agenda. In this introduction to the special issue, the editors present the concept of social policy by other means as encompassing two kinds of unconventional social policy (from the point of view of mainstream comparative research): First, func…
Did they learn to tax? Taxation trends outside the OECD
We map trends of tax policy change in developing countries and transition economies since the 1980s, compare them to tax trends in the advanced Western democracies and review some of the explanations offered by the contributions to this volume. We find that non-Western countries follow the lead of Western countries in some important respects but not in others. While non-Western countries brought their general revenues closer to Western levels and…
Trade liberalization and the global expansion of modern taxes
For a long time, governments relied heavily on trade taxes as the main source of public finance, and for some countries, mainly less developed ones, they still account for a large share of revenue. Yet, with trade liberalization, governments have been forced to abandon these easy-to-collect taxes and to adopt modern hard-to-collect taxes, mainly internal income and consumption taxes. Surprisingly, we know little about how governments across the w…
Dictators don't compete: Autocracy, democracy, and tax competition
It pays to be a tax haven. Ireland has become rich that way. Why do not all countries cut their capital taxes to get wealthy? One reason is structural. As the standard model of tax competition explains, small countries gain from competitive tax cuts while large countries suffer. Yet not all small (large) countries have low (high) capital taxes. Why? The reason, we argue, is political. While the standard model assumes governments to be democratic,…
The historical origins of wealth taxation
Which factors have driven wealth taxation over the long run of history? We look at a new dataset on the first permanent introduction of taxes on net wealth, i.e., recurrent taxes levied based on the absolute value of an individual’s financial assets, to answer this question. First, we place the introduction of wealth taxation in the historical genesis of the modern tax state. We find that recurrent taxes on net wealth are a more recent, yet less …
Room to Manoeuvre? International Financial Markets and the National Tax State
Globalisation has triggered a downwards trend in direct taxation as governments compete for internationally mobile capital. This popular postulation has blurred the attention to potential upward constraints on tax policy-making emanating from globalised capital markets. In this paper, we illustrate when and how capital markets exert an upward pressure on taxes. While the increasing access to international capital allowed governments in developed …
The climate crisis, policy distraction and support for fuel taxation
The climate crisis looms but support for fuel taxation is low. How to boost support? The obvious way is to make the connection to the climate crisis explicit. Many observers fear, however, that policy myopia renders this strategy ineffective: As the consequences of the climate crisis are long‐term and insecure, people are loath to pay for costly countermeasures in the short term. We look at policy distraction as a second potential drag. We argue …
Democracy and the global spread of progressive taxes
The adoption of modern tax policies is crucial for social development. Taxes raise revenue, which allows governments to invest in public goods and social protection. At the same time, they can be highly redistributive and thus are complementary to social policies. Hence, the adoption of modern taxes is a critical step towards social development as it allows for the very financial foundation for investing in and increasing the well-being of indivi…
Breaking with Orthodoxy? German Fiscal Policy in the Shadow of Covid-19
The Covid pandemic confronted the Merkel IV government with unprecedented fiscal challenges. We argue that the government's response to these challenges constitutes a break with established patterns of German fiscal policy orthodoxy in at least three areas. First, the government suspended the debt brake and gave up the 'Schwarze Null' without much debate. Second, it implemented a fiscal rescue package that struck a new balance between the interes…
Capital markets and tax policy making: A comparative analysis of European tax reforms since the crisis
Invisible taxation: Women and the Tax State
Revenue, Redistribution, and the Rise and Fall of Inheritance Taxation
Why do countries repeal the inheritance tax? To investigate this question, we use a novel dataset on inheritance tax introductions and repeals worldwide. We argue that revenue requirements are the main determinant of repeal risks: The inheritance tax is resilient as long as it is central to the national revenue system; it becomes vulnerable to attacks once the rise of more efficient tax instruments marginalizes its revenue contribution. Devoid of…
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 17? An Empirical Investigation of the Effectiveness of Aid Given to Boost Developing Countries’ Tax Revenue and Capacity
Developing economies need to increase their tax revenue. The international community is keenly aware of this challenge and recently dedicated substantial resources and advocacy to assist countries in mobilizing domestic tax revenue as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Considering, however, the extensive research that foreign aid is often ineffective, it is not obvious that this tax assistance will help developing countries raise revenue.…
Failing through success? How stable liberal orders become self-destabilising
Aid for taxation and representation? The effect of foreign tax assistance on democracy in the Global South
The Competition State
Capital markets and tax policy making: A comparative analysis of European tax reforms since the crisis
Room to Manoeuvre? International Financial Markets and the National Tax State
Globalisation has triggered a downwards trend in direct taxation as governments compete for internationally mobile capital. This popular postulation has blurred the attention to potential upward constraints on tax policy-making emanating from globalised capital markets. In this paper, we illustrate when and how capital markets exert an upward pressure on taxes. While the increasing access to international capital allowed governments in developed …
The Global Emergence of Social Protection: Explaining Social Security Legislation 1820-2013
Comparative welfare state research is directed mainly toward the development of welfare states in advanced democracies, although the majority of people live outside the OECD and often face graver social risks arising from poverty and starvation. To secure a minimum standard of living, nearly all countries have introduced social programs to protect their citizens. Yet the timing of when governments take on the responsibility of providing social pr…
Dictators don't compete: Autocracy, democracy, and tax competition
It pays to be a tax haven. Ireland has become rich that way. Why do not all countries cut their capital taxes to get wealthy? One reason is structural. As the standard model of tax competition explains, small countries gain from competitive tax cuts while large countries suffer. Yet not all small (large) countries have low (high) capital taxes. Why? The reason, we argue, is political. While the standard model assumes governments to be democratic,…
Did they learn to tax? Taxation trends outside the OECD
We map trends of tax policy change in developing countries and transition economies since the 1980s, compare them to tax trends in the advanced Western democracies and review some of the explanations offered by the contributions to this volume. We find that non-Western countries follow the lead of Western countries in some important respects but not in others. While non-Western countries brought their general revenues closer to Western levels and…
Trade liberalization and the global expansion of modern taxes
For a long time, governments relied heavily on trade taxes as the main source of public finance, and for some countries, mainly less developed ones, they still account for a large share of revenue. Yet, with trade liberalization, governments have been forced to abandon these easy-to-collect taxes and to adopt modern hard-to-collect taxes, mainly internal income and consumption taxes. Surprisingly, we know little about how governments across the w…
Happy taxation: Increasing Tax Compliance Through Positive Rewards
Can governments increase tax compliance by rewarding honest taxpayers? We conducted a controlled laboratory experiment comparing tax compliance under a “deterrence” baseline with tax compliance under two “reward” treatments: a “donation” treatment giving taxpayers a say in the spending purposes of their payments and a “lucky” treatment giving taxpayers the (highly unlikely) chance of winning a lottery. The reward treatments significantly affected…
Social Policy by Other Means: Theorizing Unconventional Forms of Welfare Production
The goal of this special issue is to highlight the importance of unconventional social policies, theorize their development in comparison with traditional welfare state accounts and outline a new research agenda. In this introduction to the special issue, the editors present the concept of social policy by other means as encompassing two kinds of unconventional social policy (from the point of view of mainstream comparative research): First, func…
Democracy and the global spread of progressive taxes
The adoption of modern tax policies is crucial for social development. Taxes raise revenue, which allows governments to invest in public goods and social protection. At the same time, they can be highly redistributive and thus are complementary to social policies. Hence, the adoption of modern taxes is a critical step towards social development as it allows for the very financial foundation for investing in and increasing the well-being of indivi…
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 17? An Empirical Investigation of the Effectiveness of Aid Given to Boost Developing Countries’ Tax Revenue and Capacity
Developing economies need to increase their tax revenue. The international community is keenly aware of this challenge and recently dedicated substantial resources and advocacy to assist countries in mobilizing domestic tax revenue as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Considering, however, the extensive research that foreign aid is often ineffective, it is not obvious that this tax assistance will help developing countries raise revenue.…
Mass Warfare and the Development of the Modern Welfare State: An Analysis of the Western World, 1914–1950
The impact of war on the development of welfare states in the Western world has recently attracted growing attention (Castles, Journal of European Social Policy, 20, 91–101, 2010; Rehm, Risk Inequality and Welfare States. Social Policy Preferences, Development, and Dynamics. Cambridge University Press, 2016; Obinger et al., Warfare and Welfare. Military Conflict and Welfare State Development in Western Countries. Oxford University Press, 2018). T…
Left by the left? The politics of poverty alleviation
Research shows that low-income groups are increasingly left behind economically and excluded from the policy-making process of advanced democratic societies. This suggests that governments do not sufficiently address the needs of the poor. In this article, we explore to what extent labour power positively influences redistribution and policies for society overall and for the poor in specific. Following standard political economy arguments, a powe…
The historical origins of wealth taxation
Which factors have driven wealth taxation over the long run of history? We look at a new dataset on the first permanent introduction of taxes on net wealth, i.e., recurrent taxes levied based on the absolute value of an individual’s financial assets, to answer this question. First, we place the introduction of wealth taxation in the historical genesis of the modern tax state. We find that recurrent taxes on net wealth are a more recent, yet less …
Aid for taxation and representation? The effect of foreign tax assistance on democracy in the Global South
Breaking with Orthodoxy? German Fiscal Policy in the Shadow of Covid-19
The Covid pandemic confronted the Merkel IV government with unprecedented fiscal challenges. We argue that the government's response to these challenges constitutes a break with established patterns of German fiscal policy orthodoxy in at least three areas. First, the government suspended the debt brake and gave up the 'Schwarze Null' without much debate. Second, it implemented a fiscal rescue package that struck a new balance between the interes…
Revenue, Redistribution, and the Rise and Fall of Inheritance Taxation
Why do countries repeal the inheritance tax? To investigate this question, we use a novel dataset on inheritance tax introductions and repeals worldwide. We argue that revenue requirements are the main determinant of repeal risks: The inheritance tax is resilient as long as it is central to the national revenue system; it becomes vulnerable to attacks once the rise of more efficient tax instruments marginalizes its revenue contribution. Devoid of…
Invisible taxation: Women and the Tax State
Failing through success? How stable liberal orders become self-destabilising
The climate crisis, policy distraction and support for fuel taxation
The climate crisis looms but support for fuel taxation is low. How to boost support? The obvious way is to make the connection to the climate crisis explicit. Many observers fear, however, that policy myopia renders this strategy ineffective: As the consequences of the climate crisis are long‐term and insecure, people are loath to pay for costly countermeasures in the short term. We look at policy distraction as a second potential drag. We argue …
Economics (18 works) · Political science (11 works) · Public economics (10 works) · Tax reform (10 works) · Finance (8 works) · Politics (8 works) · Taxation and Compliance Studies (8 works) · Local Government Finance and Decentralization (7 works) · Monetary economics (7 works) · Indirect tax (6 works)