public finance research paper topics

Public Finance Research Paper Topics

In this comprehensive guide, we provide a wide range of public finance research paper topics divided into 10 categories, along with expert advice on topic selection and valuable insights on writing a successful research paper. Furthermore, iResearchNet’s custom writing services offer students the opportunity to order a custom public finance research paper tailored to their specific needs. With expert degree-holding writers, in-depth research, customized solutions, and timely delivery, iResearchNet is your ideal partner in achieving academic excellence in public finance research.

100 Public Finance Research Paper Topics

In the realm of public finance, there is a multitude of intriguing and relevant research topics to explore. To assist you in finding the perfect research paper topic, we have compiled a comprehensive list divided into 10 categories. Each category covers a distinct area within public finance, offering a wide range of possibilities for your research. Choose a category that aligns with your interests and academic goals, and discover captivating research paper topics within each category:

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Taxation and Revenue Research Paper Topics

• The impact of progressive taxation on income inequality
• Evaluating the effectiveness of tax incentives for businesses
• Analysis of the relationship between tax policy and economic growth
• Assessing the implications of tax evasion and avoidance on government revenue
• The role of taxation in environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation
• Examining the effects of taxation on consumer behavior and purchasing decisions
• Analyzing the fairness and equity of different tax systems
• Exploring the impact of international tax competition on domestic revenue
• Assessing the efficiency of tax collection and administration mechanisms
• The role of tax policy in promoting social welfare and reducing poverty

Public Expenditure Research Paper Topics

• The role of government spending in stimulating economic development
• Analyzing the efficiency of public investment projects
• The impact of government welfare programs on poverty reduction
• Evaluating the effectiveness of public education expenditure in improving educational outcomes
• Analyzing the allocation of public funds for healthcare and its impact on public health outcomes
• Exploring the relationship between public infrastructure investment and economic productivity
• Assessing the consequences of military spending on economic growth and social welfare
• The role of public expenditure in addressing income inequality and promoting social justice
• Analyzing the impact of government subsidies on specific industries or sectors
• Evaluating the effectiveness of government grants and aid programs in supporting economic development

Fiscal Policy Research Paper Topics

• Examining the effectiveness of countercyclical fiscal policies in stabilizing the economy
• The role of fiscal policy in addressing income inequality
• Analyzing the consequences of budget deficits and public debt on economic stability
• Assessing the impact of fiscal policy on inflation and price stability
• Exploring the relationship between fiscal policy and unemployment rates
• Evaluating the role of fiscal policy in promoting sustainable economic growth
• Analyzing the effects of fiscal decentralization on regional economic disparities
• The impact of fiscal policy on private sector investment and entrepreneurship
• Assessing the effectiveness of fiscal rules and fiscal responsibility frameworks
• Exploring the political economy of fiscal policy decision-making

Public Debt and Financial Markets Research Paper Topics

• Evaluating the impact of government debt on interest rates and borrowing costs
• Analyzing the effects of sovereign debt crises on financial markets
• Exploring the role of credit rating agencies in assessing government bonds
• The impact of government debt on long-term economic growth
• Evaluating the sustainability of public debt and potential fiscal risks
• The role of central banks in managing government debt and monetary policy
• Analyzing the effects of fiscal consolidation and austerity measures on economic recovery
• Exploring the implications of debt restructuring and forgiveness for developing countries
• Assessing the impact of public debt on intergenerational equity and future generations
• The role of financial innovation in public debt management and risk mitigation

Public-Private Partnerships Research Paper Topics

• Assessing the benefits and challenges of public-private partnerships in infrastructure development
• Analyzing the role of public-private partnerships in healthcare provision
• Evaluating the efficiency of public-private partnerships in education
• Exploring the impact of public-private partnerships on service quality and affordability
• The role of government regulations and policies in fostering successful public-private partnerships
• Analyzing the risks and rewards of public-private partnerships for both parties involved
• Assessing the economic and social outcomes of public-private partnerships in transportation
• Exploring the role of public-private partnerships in fostering innovation and technological advancements
• Evaluating the impact of public-private partnerships on job creation and economic growth
• Analyzing the accountability and transparency mechanisms in public-private partnerships

Economic Growth and Development Research Paper Topics

• Investigating the relationship between public investment and economic growth
• Analyzing the impact of government policies on regional development disparities
• Exploring the role of foreign aid in promoting economic development
• Assessing the effects of trade liberalization on economic growth and income distribution
• Analyzing the impact of corruption on economic development and foreign direct investment
• Evaluating the effectiveness of industrial policies in fostering economic diversification
• Exploring the role of entrepreneurship and innovation in economic growth
• Assessing the impact of infrastructure development on economic competitiveness
• The role of human capital formation in sustainable economic development
• Analyzing the effects of natural resource abundance on economic growth and governance

Environmental Economics and Sustainable Development Research Paper Topics

• Evaluating the effectiveness of environmental taxation in reducing pollution
• Analyzing the economic consequences of climate change policies
• Exploring the role of economic incentives in promoting sustainable development
• Assessing the impact of environmental regulations on firm behavior and competitiveness
• The economic implications of renewable energy adoption and energy transition
• Analyzing the relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation
• Evaluating the effectiveness of international agreements and protocols in addressing environmental challenges
• Exploring the role of market-based instruments in environmental conservation
• Assessing the economic costs and benefits of biodiversity conservation efforts
• The role of behavioral economics in promoting pro-environmental behavior

Public Finance and Public Administration Research Paper Topics

• Assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of public budgeting processes
• Analyzing the impact of public finance reforms on government transparency
• Exploring the role of public finance in supporting public service delivery
• Evaluating the effects of decentralization on fiscal management and accountability
• The role of performance-based budgeting in improving public sector performance
• Analyzing the challenges and opportunities of digitalization in public finance management
• Assessing the impact of political factors on public finance decision-making
• Exploring the role of public finance in promoting social welfare and equality
• Evaluating the effects of corruption on public finance and governance
• The role of public finance in supporting economic development in developing countries

Behavioral Economics and Public Finance Research Paper Topics

• Examining the behavioral biases in taxation decisions
• Analyzing the impact of social norms on tax compliance behavior
• Exploring the role of behavioral economics in designing public finance policies
• Evaluating the effectiveness of nudges in promoting desirable fiscal behaviors
• The role of framing and perception in public finance decision-making
• Analyzing the impact of financial literacy on personal finance management
• Exploring the behavioral aspects of saving and investment decisions
• Assessing the effects of income inequality on individual well-being and economic outcomes
• The role of behavioral economics in understanding public attitudes towards taxation
• Analyzing the behavioral determinants of charitable giving and philanthropy

International Public Finance Research Paper Topics

• Evaluating the role of international financial institutions in supporting developing countries
• Analyzing the impact of global economic integration on fiscal policy autonomy
• Exploring the challenges of tax evasion and avoidance in the global economy
• Assessing the implications of foreign aid and debt on economic sovereignty
• The role of international taxation agreements in promoting tax fairness
• Analyzing the effects of capital flows and exchange rate volatility on public finance
• Evaluating the role of international trade agreements in shaping fiscal policies
• Exploring the impact of global financial crises on public finance management
• Assessing the effectiveness of international cooperation in addressing tax havens
• The role of international organizations in promoting fiscal transparency and accountability

The topics provided are intended to serve as a starting point for your research journey in public finance. Feel free to modify or refine these topics according to your specific interests and research objectives. Conducting thorough literature reviews and engaging in discussions with your professors and peers will further guide you in narrowing down and refining your research topic.

Public Finance Research Paper Topics Guide

Welcome to the world of public finance research papers! As a student of economics, you are well aware of the significance of public finance in shaping the economic landscape of countries. Public finance encompasses the study of government revenue, expenditure, and fiscal policies, which have far-reaching implications on economic growth, income distribution, and public welfare.

Writing a research paper in public finance provides an opportunity to explore and analyze various aspects of government finance, while developing critical thinking, research, and analytical skills. It allows you to delve deep into specific topics of interest within the realm of public finance and contribute to the existing body of knowledge in the field.

The purpose of this page is to provide you with a comprehensive guide to public finance research paper topics, expert advice on choosing the right topic, and essential insights on crafting an outstanding research paper. Whether you are a novice researcher or an experienced economics student, this page will serve as a valuable resource to enhance your understanding and improve your research and writing abilities.

Throughout this page, you will find a diverse range of public finance research paper topics divided into 10 categories. These categories cover a wide spectrum of subtopics within the field of public finance, allowing you to explore areas such as taxation and revenue, public expenditure, fiscal policy, public debt, public-private partnerships, economic growth and development, environmental economics, public finance and public administration, behavioral economics, and international public finance.

In addition to the comprehensive list of topics, we will provide expert advice on how to choose the most suitable topic for your research paper. We understand the challenges of selecting from the multitude of options, and our tips will help you navigate through the process, considering factors such as relevance, interest, feasibility, and the availability of literature and research gaps.

Furthermore, we will guide you through the essential steps of writing a compelling public finance research paper. From conducting a thorough literature review and gathering relevant data to structuring your paper and presenting your analysis, our insights will ensure that your research paper is well-organized, coherent, and academically sound.

To further assist you in your academic journey, iResearchNet offers custom writing services tailored to your needs. Our team of expert degree-holding writers is dedicated to providing you with top-quality, custom-written research papers. We conduct in-depth research, adhere to custom formatting styles such as APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian, and Harvard, and deliver timely solutions to meet your deadlines.

With our flexible pricing, easy order tracking, and 24/7 support, you can rely on iResearchNet to deliver a customized research paper that aligns with your academic requirements. We prioritize confidentiality and offer absolute privacy, ensuring a secure and reliable experience.

Now, let’s explore the captivating world of public finance research paper topics, sharpen your research skills, and create impactful research papers that contribute to the field of economics. Let this page be your guide to unlocking your research potential and achieving excellence in public finance research.

Tips on Choosing a Public Finance Topic

Selecting a suitable research paper topic is a crucial step in the process of writing an engaging and impactful paper in the field of public finance. With the multitude of potential topics available, it can be overwhelming to make a decision. To assist you in this endeavor, we offer expert advice on how to choose the most appropriate public finance research paper topic for your study:

• Identify your interests : Start by considering areas within public finance that genuinely interest you. Exploring topics that align with your passions will not only make the research process more enjoyable but also enhance your motivation and engagement with the subject matter.
• Consider current debates and trends : Stay informed about the latest developments, debates, and emerging trends in public finance. Topics that are currently generating discussions and controversies provide fertile ground for conducting meaningful research and contributing to the ongoing discourse.
• Narrow down your scope : Public finance is a vast field with numerous sub-areas and specializations. To select a manageable topic, narrow down your focus to a specific aspect or subfield of public finance. This will enable you to delve deeper into the subject matter and provide a more comprehensive analysis.
• Conduct a literature review : Before finalizing your research topic, conduct a thorough literature review to explore existing research and identify research gaps. This will help you understand the existing knowledge landscape and identify areas where your study can contribute new insights or offer a fresh perspective.
• Consider the availability of data : Evaluate the availability and accessibility of relevant data sources for your chosen topic. Adequate data is essential for conducting empirical research and supporting your arguments and findings. Ensure that you can access reliable data to support your research objectives.
• Assess feasibility and scope : Assess the feasibility of your research topic in terms of time, resources, and scope. Consider the available research materials, potential access to experts or practitioners, and the required methodologies. A topic that is too broad or requires extensive resources may not be suitable for a research paper.
• Consult with your professors and peers : Seek guidance from your professors, advisors, or peers who have expertise in public finance. Discuss your research interests and proposed topics with them to gain valuable insights and suggestions. They can provide guidance on refining your topic and offer valuable recommendations based on their experience.
• Consider policy relevance : Public finance research often has practical implications for policymakers and governments. Consider topics that have real-world policy relevance and can contribute to informed decision-making in the realm of public finance. This will add significance and value to your research.
• Brainstorm and refine : Engage in brainstorming sessions to generate ideas and refine your research topic. Reflect on the potential research questions, objectives, and outcomes of your study. Consider the potential impact and contribution of your research to the field of public finance.
• Stay open to adjustments : As you progress in your research, be open to adjusting and refining your topic based on emerging insights and findings. Research is an iterative process, and you may discover new angles or aspects that warrant modifications to your initial topic.

By following these expert tips, you can choose a compelling and relevant research paper topic in the field of public finance. Remember that selecting a topic is just the first step, and conducting thorough research, organizing your findings, and presenting your analysis in a coherent and persuasive manner are equally important. With the right topic and a systematic approach, you can produce an outstanding research paper in public finance that contributes to the body of knowledge in the field.

How to Write a Public Finance Research Paper

Writing a research paper in the field of public finance requires a systematic and well-structured approach. To guide you through the process, we have outlined the essential steps to follow when writing a public finance research paper:

• Understand the research question : Begin by thoroughly understanding the research question or objective of your study. Clarify the scope and purpose of your research, ensuring that it aligns with the chosen topic and contributes to the field of public finance.
• Conduct a literature review : Before diving into your own research, conduct a comprehensive literature review to understand the existing knowledge and debates related to your topic. Identify relevant theories, concepts, empirical studies, and policy discussions that will inform and support your research.
• Develop a research framework : Based on your research question and the literature review, develop a clear research framework that outlines the theoretical foundations, hypotheses or research questions, and the methodology you will employ. This framework will serve as a roadmap for your research paper.
• Collect and analyze data : Depending on the nature of your research, collect relevant data using appropriate research methods. This may involve conducting surveys, interviews, analyzing existing datasets, or applying economic modeling techniques. Ensure that your data collection methods align with your research objectives.
• Organize your paper : Structure your research paper in a logical and coherent manner. Typically, a public finance research paper consists of an introduction, literature review, research methodology, findings and analysis, discussion, and conclusion. Ensure that each section flows smoothly and supports the overall argument of your paper.
• Write a compelling introduction : Begin your paper with a concise and engaging introduction that provides background information on the topic, presents the research question, and highlights the significance of your study. Clearly articulate the objectives and scope of your research.
• Conduct a rigorous analysis : In the findings and analysis section, present your research findings in a clear and concise manner. Use appropriate tables, charts, and graphs to present the data effectively. Analyze the results and relate them to the research question, providing insightful interpretations and implications.
• Discuss the implications : In the discussion section, interpret your findings and relate them to the existing literature. Discuss the implications of your research, highlight any limitations or constraints, and propose areas for further research. Engage critically with the findings and offer meaningful insights.
• Draw a conclusion : Summarize the key findings and arguments of your research in the conclusion section. Restate the research question and objectives, highlight the main contributions of your study, and discuss the policy or practical implications of your research.
• Revise and proofread : After completing the initial draft, revise and edit your paper for clarity, coherence, and grammar. Pay attention to the overall structure, flow of ideas, and citation accuracy. Proofread the final version to ensure it is free of errors and adheres to the required formatting style (e.g., APA, MLA).
• Include proper citations and references : Throughout your paper, provide proper citations and references to acknowledge the sources of your information and ideas. Follow the appropriate citation style guidelines to maintain consistency and academic integrity.
• Seek feedback and revise : Share your research paper with your peers, professors, or academic mentors to gather feedback and suggestions for improvement. Revise your paper based on their input, addressing any areas of concern or recommendations for further refinement.

By following these steps and maintaining a disciplined approach, you can produce a high-quality research paper in the field of public finance. Remember to allocate sufficient time for each stage of the research process, as conducting thorough research, thoughtful analysis, and clear writing are key to creating a successful public finance research paper.

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• In-depth research : Our writers are skilled in conducting comprehensive literature reviews and gathering relevant data for your research. They delve into the most up-to-date sources, scholarly articles, and reputable databases to ensure the accuracy and depth of your paper.
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Research Topics & Ideas: Finance

120+ Finance Research Topic Ideas To Fast-Track Your Project

If you’re just starting out exploring potential research topics for your finance-related dissertation, thesis or research project, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll help kickstart your research topic ideation process by providing a hearty list of finance-centric research topics and ideas.

PS – This is just the start…

We know it’s exciting to run through a list of research topics, but please keep in mind that this list is just a starting point . To develop a suitable education-related research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , and a viable plan of action to fill that gap.

If this sounds foreign to you, check out our free research topic webinar that explores how to find and refine a high-quality research topic, from scratch. Alternatively, if you’d like hands-on help, consider our 1-on-1 coaching service .

Overview: Finance Research Topics

• Corporate finance topics
• Investment banking topics
• Private equity & VC
• Asset management
• Hedge funds
• Financial planning & advisory
• Quantitative finance
• Treasury management
• Financial technology (FinTech)
• Commercial banking
• International finance

Corporate Finance

These research topic ideas explore a breadth of issues ranging from the examination of capital structure to the exploration of financial strategies in mergers and acquisitions.

• Evaluating the impact of capital structure on firm performance across different industries
• Assessing the effectiveness of financial management practices in emerging markets
• A comparative analysis of the cost of capital and financial structure in multinational corporations across different regulatory environments
• Examining how integrating sustainability and CSR initiatives affect a corporation’s financial performance and brand reputation
• Analysing how rigorous financial analysis informs strategic decisions and contributes to corporate growth
• Examining the relationship between corporate governance structures and financial performance
• A comparative analysis of financing strategies among mergers and acquisitions
• Evaluating the importance of financial transparency and its impact on investor relations and trust
• Investigating the role of financial flexibility in strategic investment decisions during economic downturns
• Investigating how different dividend policies affect shareholder value and the firm’s financial performance

Investment Banking

The list below presents a series of research topics exploring the multifaceted dimensions of investment banking, with a particular focus on its evolution following the 2008 financial crisis.

• Analysing the evolution and impact of regulatory frameworks in investment banking post-2008 financial crisis
• Investigating the challenges and opportunities associated with cross-border M&As facilitated by investment banks.
• Evaluating the role of investment banks in facilitating mergers and acquisitions in emerging markets
• Analysing the transformation brought about by digital technologies in the delivery of investment banking services and its effects on efficiency and client satisfaction.
• Evaluating the role of investment banks in promoting sustainable finance and the integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria in investment decisions.
• Assessing the impact of technology on the efficiency and effectiveness of investment banking services
• Examining the effectiveness of investment banks in pricing and marketing IPOs, and the subsequent performance of these IPOs in the stock market.
• A comparative analysis of different risk management strategies employed by investment banks
• Examining the relationship between investment banking fees and corporate performance
• A comparative analysis of competitive strategies employed by leading investment banks and their impact on market share and profitability

Private Equity & Venture Capital (VC)

These research topic ideas are centred on venture capital and private equity investments, with a focus on their impact on technological startups, emerging technologies, and broader economic ecosystems.

• Investigating the determinants of successful venture capital investments in tech startups
• Analysing the trends and outcomes of venture capital funding in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, or clean energy
• Assessing the performance and return on investment of different exit strategies employed by venture capital firms
• Assessing the impact of private equity investments on the financial performance of SMEs
• Analysing the role of venture capital in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship
• Evaluating the exit strategies of private equity firms: A comparative analysis
• Exploring the ethical considerations in private equity and venture capital financing
• Investigating how private equity ownership influences operational efficiency and overall business performance
• Evaluating the effectiveness of corporate governance structures in companies backed by private equity investments
• Examining how the regulatory environment in different regions affects the operations, investments and performance of private equity and venture capital firms

Asset Management

This list includes a range of research topic ideas focused on asset management, probing into the effectiveness of various strategies, the integration of technology, and the alignment with ethical principles among other key dimensions.

• Analysing the effectiveness of different asset allocation strategies in diverse economic environments
• Analysing the methodologies and effectiveness of performance attribution in asset management firms
• Assessing the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria on fund performance
• Examining the role of robo-advisors in modern asset management
• Evaluating how advancements in technology are reshaping portfolio management strategies within asset management firms
• Evaluating the performance persistence of mutual funds and hedge funds
• Investigating the long-term performance of portfolios managed with ethical or socially responsible investing principles
• Investigating the behavioural biases in individual and institutional investment decisions
• Examining the asset allocation strategies employed by pension funds and their impact on long-term fund performance
• Assessing the operational efficiency of asset management firms and its correlation with fund performance

Hedge Funds

Here we explore research topics related to hedge fund operations and strategies, including their implications on corporate governance, financial market stability, and regulatory compliance among other critical facets.

• Assessing the impact of hedge fund activism on corporate governance and financial performance
• Analysing the effectiveness and implications of market-neutral strategies employed by hedge funds
• Investigating how different fee structures impact the performance and investor attraction to hedge funds
• Evaluating the contribution of hedge funds to financial market liquidity and the implications for market stability
• Analysing the risk-return profile of hedge fund strategies during financial crises
• Evaluating the influence of regulatory changes on hedge fund operations and performance
• Examining the level of transparency and disclosure practices in the hedge fund industry and its impact on investor trust and regulatory compliance
• Assessing the contribution of hedge funds to systemic risk in financial markets, and the effectiveness of regulatory measures in mitigating such risks
• Examining the role of hedge funds in financial market stability
• Investigating the determinants of hedge fund success: A comparative analysis

Financial Planning and Advisory

This list explores various research topic ideas related to financial planning, focusing on the effects of financial literacy, the adoption of digital tools, taxation policies, and the role of financial advisors.

• Evaluating the impact of financial literacy on individual financial planning effectiveness
• Analysing how different taxation policies influence financial planning strategies among individuals and businesses
• Evaluating the effectiveness and user adoption of digital tools in modern financial planning practices
• Investigating the adequacy of long-term financial planning strategies in ensuring retirement security
• Assessing the role of financial education in shaping financial planning behaviour among different demographic groups
• Examining the impact of psychological biases on financial planning and decision-making, and strategies to mitigate these biases
• Assessing the behavioural factors influencing financial planning decisions
• Examining the role of financial advisors in managing retirement savings
• A comparative analysis of traditional versus robo-advisory in financial planning
• Investigating the ethics of financial advisory practices

The following list delves into research topics within the insurance sector, touching on the technological transformations, regulatory shifts, and evolving consumer behaviours among other pivotal aspects.

• Analysing the impact of technology adoption on insurance pricing and risk management
• Analysing the influence of Insurtech innovations on the competitive dynamics and consumer choices in insurance markets
• Investigating the factors affecting consumer behaviour in insurance product selection and the role of digital channels in influencing decisions
• Assessing the effect of regulatory changes on insurance product offerings
• Examining the determinants of insurance penetration in emerging markets
• Evaluating the operational efficiency of claims management processes in insurance companies and its impact on customer satisfaction
• Examining the evolution and effectiveness of risk assessment models used in insurance underwriting and their impact on pricing and coverage
• Evaluating the role of insurance in financial stability and economic development
• Investigating the impact of climate change on insurance models and products
• Exploring the challenges and opportunities in underwriting cyber insurance in the face of evolving cyber threats and regulations

Quantitative Finance

These topic ideas span the development of asset pricing models, evaluation of machine learning algorithms, and the exploration of ethical implications among other pivotal areas.

• Developing and testing new quantitative models for asset pricing
• Analysing the effectiveness and limitations of machine learning algorithms in predicting financial market movements
• Assessing the effectiveness of various risk management techniques in quantitative finance
• Evaluating the advancements in portfolio optimisation techniques and their impact on risk-adjusted returns
• Evaluating the impact of high-frequency trading on market efficiency and stability
• Investigating the influence of algorithmic trading strategies on market efficiency and liquidity
• Examining the risk parity approach in asset allocation and its effectiveness in different market conditions
• Examining the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence in quantitative financial analysis
• Investigating the ethical implications of quantitative financial innovations
• Assessing the profitability and market impact of statistical arbitrage strategies considering different market microstructures

Treasury Management

The following topic ideas explore treasury management, focusing on modernisation through technological advancements, the impact on firm liquidity, and the intertwined relationship with corporate governance among other crucial areas.

• Analysing the impact of treasury management practices on firm liquidity and profitability
• Analysing the role of automation in enhancing operational efficiency and strategic decision-making in treasury management
• Evaluating the effectiveness of various cash management strategies in multinational corporations
• Investigating the potential of blockchain technology in streamlining treasury operations and enhancing transparency
• Examining the role of treasury management in mitigating financial risks
• Evaluating the accuracy and effectiveness of various cash flow forecasting techniques employed in treasury management
• Assessing the impact of technological advancements on treasury management operations
• Examining the effectiveness of different foreign exchange risk management strategies employed by treasury managers in multinational corporations
• Assessing the impact of regulatory compliance requirements on the operational and strategic aspects of treasury management
• Investigating the relationship between treasury management and corporate governance

Financial Technology (FinTech)

The following research topic ideas explore the transformative potential of blockchain, the rise of open banking, and the burgeoning landscape of peer-to-peer lending among other focal areas.

• Evaluating the impact of blockchain technology on financial services
• Investigating the implications of open banking on consumer data privacy and financial services competition
• Assessing the role of FinTech in financial inclusion in emerging markets
• Analysing the role of peer-to-peer lending platforms in promoting financial inclusion and their impact on traditional banking systems
• Examining the cybersecurity challenges faced by FinTech firms and the regulatory measures to ensure data protection and financial stability
• Examining the regulatory challenges and opportunities in the FinTech ecosystem
• Assessing the impact of artificial intelligence on the delivery of financial services, customer experience, and operational efficiency within FinTech firms
• Analysing the adoption and impact of cryptocurrencies on traditional financial systems
• Investigating the determinants of success for FinTech startups

Commercial Banking

These topic ideas span commercial banking, encompassing digital transformation, support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the evolving regulatory and competitive landscape among other key themes.

• Assessing the impact of digital transformation on commercial banking services and competitiveness
• Analysing the impact of digital transformation on customer experience and operational efficiency in commercial banking
• Evaluating the role of commercial banks in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
• Investigating the effectiveness of credit risk management practices and their impact on bank profitability and financial stability
• Examining the relationship between commercial banking practices and financial stability
• Evaluating the implications of open banking frameworks on the competitive landscape and service innovation in commercial banking
• Assessing how regulatory changes affect lending practices and risk appetite of commercial banks
• Examining how commercial banks are adapting their strategies in response to competition from FinTech firms and changing consumer preferences
• Analysing the impact of regulatory compliance on commercial banking operations
• Investigating the determinants of customer satisfaction and loyalty in commercial banking

International Finance

The folowing research topic ideas are centred around international finance and global economic dynamics, delving into aspects like exchange rate fluctuations, international financial regulations, and the role of international financial institutions among other pivotal areas.

• Analysing the determinants of exchange rate fluctuations and their impact on international trade
• Analysing the influence of global trade agreements on international financial flows and foreign direct investments
• Evaluating the effectiveness of international portfolio diversification strategies in mitigating risks and enhancing returns
• Evaluating the role of international financial institutions in global financial stability
• Investigating the role and implications of offshore financial centres on international financial stability and regulatory harmonisation
• Examining the impact of global financial crises on emerging market economies
• Examining the challenges and regulatory frameworks associated with cross-border banking operations
• Assessing the effectiveness of international financial regulations
• Investigating the challenges and opportunities of cross-border mergers and acquisitions

Choosing A Research Topic

These finance-related research topic ideas are starting points to guide your thinking. They are intentionally very broad and open-ended. By engaging with the currently literature in your field of interest, you’ll be able to narrow down your focus to a specific research gap .

When choosing a topic , you’ll need to take into account its originality, relevance, feasibility, and the resources you have at your disposal. Make sure to align your interest and expertise in the subject with your university program’s specific requirements. Always consult your academic advisor to ensure that your chosen topic not only meets the academic criteria but also provides a valuable contribution to the field. 

If you need a helping hand, feel free to check out our private coaching service here.

thank you for suggest those topic, I want to ask you about the subjects related to the fintech, can i measure it and how?

Please guide me on selecting research titles

I am doing financial engineering. , can you please help me choose a dissertation topic?

I’m studying Banking and finance (MBA) please guide me on to choose a good research topic.

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Public Finance and Management

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• Description
• Aims and Scope
• Editorial Board
• Abstracting / Indexing
• Submission Guidelines

As an interdisciplinary journal, Public Finance and Management serves as a forum for new insights on foundational research themes in public finance and management as well as a platform for empirical research on emergent topics at the intersection of public finance and public management.

In addition, the journal presents innovative evidence-based research from different regions of the world and across local, regional, state, and national levels of government to offer an international perspective on public finance and management topics.

The journal welcomes empirical research on traditional aspects of public finance and management, including tax revenue management, expenditure management, debt management, governmental accounting, auditing, and financial reporting, governmental budgeting, and government procurement and contract management. The journal is also open to research on emergent and underexplored topics in public finance and management, including behavioral public financial management, digitalization of public finance, public financing of climate-resilient infrastructure systems, and optimal public-finance responses to major global crises.

Public Finance and Management publishes quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research, and all manuscripts are subject to a double-anonymous peer-review process.

Manuscript Submission Guidelines:  Public Finance and Management

Public Finance and Management is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics .

Please read the guidelines below then visit Public Finance and Management’s submission site [  https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/pfam  ] to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned. Remember you can log in to the submission site at any time to check on the progress of your paper through the peer review process.

Sage disseminates high-quality research and engaged scholarship globally, and we are committed to diversity and inclusion in publishing. We encourage submissions from a diverse range of authors from across all countries and backgrounds.

Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of Public Finance and Management will be reviewed.

There are no fees payable to submit or publish in Public Finance and Management.

As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you, that you are submitting the work for first publication in Public Finance and Management (PFM) and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere. Please see our guidelines on prior publication and note that PFM will consider submissions of papers that have been posted on preprint servers; please alert the Editorial Office when submitting (contact details are at the end of these guidelines) and include the DOI for the preprint in the designated field in the manuscript submission system. Authors should not post an updated version of their paper to a preprint server while it is being peer reviewed for possible publication in Public Finance and Management . If your paper is accepted, you will need to contact the preprint server to ensure the final published article link is attached to your preprint. Learn more about our preprint policy here .

If you have any questions about publishing with Sage, please visit the Sage Journal Solutions Portal .

• What do we publish? 1.1 Aims & Scope 1.2 Article types 1.3 Writing your paper
• Editorial policies 2.1 Peer review policy 2.2 Authorship 2.3 Acknowledgements 2.4 Funding 2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests 2.6 Research ethics and patient consent 2.7 Research data
• Publishing policies 3.1 Publication ethics 3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement 3.3 Open access and author archiving
• Preparing your manuscript 4.1 Formatting 4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics 4.3 Identifiable information 4.4 Supplemental material 4.5 Reference style 4.6 English language editing services
• Submitting your manuscript 5.1 ORCID 5.2 Information required for completing your submission 5.3 Permissions
• On acceptance and publication 6.1 SAGE Production 6.2 Online First publication 6.3 Access to your published article 6.4 Promoting your article
• Further information 7.1 Appealing the publication decision

1. What do we publish?

1.1 Aims & Scope

Before submitting your manuscript to Public Finance and Management , please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope.

1.2 Article types

Public Finance and Management publishes Research Articles and Book Reviews.

1.3 Writing your paper

Visit the Sage Author Gateway for general advice on how to get published , plus links to further resources.

Sage Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance your article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.

1.3.1 Make your article discoverable

For information and guidance on how to make your article more discoverable, visit our Gateway page on How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online .

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2. Editorial policies

2.1 Peer review policy

Sage does not permit the use of author-suggested (recommended) reviewers at any stage of the submission process, be that through the web-based submission system or other communication.

Reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Our policy is that reviewers should not be assigned to a paper if:

• The reviewer is based at the same institution as any of the co-authors.
• The reviewer is based at the funding body of the paper.
• The author has recommended the reviewer.
• The reviewer has provided a personal (e.g. Gmail/Yahoo/Hotmail) email account and an institutional email account cannot be found after performing a basic Google search (name, department and institution).

Public Finance and Management (PFM)’ s policy is to have manuscripts reviewed by two expert reviewers. PFM utilizes a double-anonymized peer review process in which the reviewer and authors’ names and information are withheld from the other. All manuscripts are reviewed as rapidly as possible, while maintaining rigor. Reviewers make comments to the author and recommendations to the Editor who then makes the final decision.

The Editor or members of the Editorial Board may occasionally submit their own manuscripts for possible publication in PFM. In these cases, the peer review process will be managed by alternative members of the Board and the submitting Editor/Board member will have no involvement in the decision-making process.

Special issue manuscripts are sent to Guest Editors upon submission to ensure they meet the scope of the special issue. The rest of the peer review process will be handled by Public Finance and Management' s internal editorial team. Reviewers make comments to the author and recommendations to the Editor who then makes the final decision. 

Public Finance and Management is committed to delivering high quality, fast peer-review for your paper, and as such has partnered with Web of Science (previously Publons). Web of Science is a third-party service that seeks to track, verify and give credit for peer review. Reviewers for PFM can opt in to Web of Science in order to claim their reviews or have them automatically verified and added to their reviewer profile. Reviewers claiming credit for their review will be associated with the relevant journal, but the article name, reviewer’s decision and the content of their review is not published on the site. For more information visit the Web of Science website .

2.2 Authorship

All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.

Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools .

2.3 Acknowledgements

All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

Please supply any personal acknowledgements separately to the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.

Per ICMJE recommendations , it is best practice to obtain consent from non-author contributors who you are acknowledging in your paper.

2.3.1 Third party submission

Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

• Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input
• Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
• Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

2.3.2 Writing assistance

Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g. from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.

2.4 Funding

Public Finance and Management requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading.  Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. 

2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests

It is the policy of Public Finance and Management to require a declaration of conflicting interests from all authors enabling a statement to be carried within the paginated pages of all published articles.

Please ensure that a ‘Declaration of Conflicting Interests’ statement is included at the end of your manuscript, after any acknowledgements and prior to the references. If no conflict exists, please state that ‘The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest’. For guidance on conflict of interest statements, please see the ICMJE recommendations here .

2.6 Research ethics and patient consent

Information on informed consent to report individual cases or case series should be included in the manuscript text. A statement is required regarding whether written informed consent for patient information and images to be published was provided by the patient(s) or a legally authorized representative. Please do not submit the patient’s actual written informed consent with your article, as this in itself breaches the patient’s confidentiality. Public Finance and Management requests that you confirm to us, in writing, that you have obtained written informed consent but the written consent itself should be held by the authors/investigators themselves, for example in a patient’s hospital record. The confirmatory letter may be uploaded with your submission as a separate file. Please also refer to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Protection of Research Participants .

All papers reporting human studies must state in the methods section that the relevant ethics committee or institutional review board provided (or waived) approval. Please ensure that you have provided the full name and institution of the review committee, in addition to the approval number. Manuscripts of this type should conform to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals .

2.7 Research data

Public Finance and Management is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages .

Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to:

• Share your research data in a relevant public data repository
• Include a data availability statement linking to your data. If it is not possible to share your data, use the statement to confirm why it cannot be shared.
• Cite this data in your research

If you need to anonymize your research data for peer review, please refer to our Research Data Sharing FAQs for guidance .

3. Publishing policies

3.1 Publication ethics

Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway .

3.1.1 Plagiarism

Public Finance and Management and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of Public Finance and Management against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarized other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

3.1.2 Prior publication

If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.

3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement

Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive license agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and license to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information, please visit the Sage Author Gateway .

3.3 Open access and author archiving

Public Finance and Management offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice program. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access . For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies .

4. Preparing your manuscript

4.1 Formatting

All manuscripts submitted for review must:

• Be submitted as a Microsoft Word file.
• Be double-spaced with standard fonts and margins.
• Be formatted according to APA style guidelines.
• All author identifiers must be removed from the manuscript before submission.
• Include a cover letter with author contact information, attached as a separate file.

4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics

Tables, figures, and graphics should be inserted in the place they should appear in the text rather than as an appendix.

For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines .

4.3 Identifiable information

Where a journal uses double-anonymized peer review, authors are required to submit:

• A version of the manuscript which has had any information that compromises the anonymity of the author(s) removed or anonymized. This version will be sent to the peer reviewers.
• A separate title page which includes any removed or anonymized material. This will not be sent to the peer reviewers.

Visit the Sage Author Gateway for detailed guidance on making an anonymous submission .

4.4 Supplemental material

Public Finance and Management is able to host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc.) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplemental files .

4.5 Reference style

Public Finance and Management adheres to the APA reference style. View the APA guidelines to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.

4.6 English language editing services

Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit Public Finance and Management ’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information .

5. Submitting your manuscript

Public Finance and Management is hosted on Sage Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit [  https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/pfam  ] to login and submit your article online.

IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for Public Finance and Management in the past year it is likely that you will have had an account created.  For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit ScholarOne Online Help .

As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID . ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized.

The collection of ORCID IDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of Public Finance and Management . If you already have an ORCID ID you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. We also strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID ID will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID ID is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.

If you do not already have an ORCID ID please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more .

5.2 Information required for completing your submission

You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. The affiliation listed in the manuscript should be the institution where the research was conducted. If an author has moved to a new institution since completing the research, the new affiliation can be included in a manuscript note at the end of the paper. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).

5.3 Permissions

Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway .

6. On acceptance and publication

6.1 SAGE Production

Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be made available to the corresponding author via our editing portal Sage Edit or by email, and corrections should be made directly or notified to us promptly. Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate.

6.2 Online First publication

Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.

6.3 Access to your published article

Sage provides authors with online access to their final article.

6.4 Promoting your article

Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.

7. Further information

Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the Public Finance and Management editorial office as follows:

Editor in Chief:  Dr. Komla Dzigbede, State University of New York at Binghamton Email:   [email protected]

Co-Editor in Chief: Dr. Phuong Nguyen-Hoang, University of Iowa Email: [email protected]

7.1 Appealing the publication decision

Editors have very broad discretion in determining whether an article is an appropriate fit for their journal. Many manuscripts are declined with a very general statement of the rejection decision. These decisions are not eligible for formal appeal unless the author believes the decision to reject the manuscript was based on an error in the review of the article, in which case the author may appeal the decision by providing the Editor with a detailed written description of the error they believe occurred.

If an author believes the decision regarding their manuscript was affected by a publication ethics breach, the author may contact the publisher with a detailed written description of their concern, and information supporting the concern, at [email protected]

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A snapshot of public finance research from immediately prior to the pandemic: IIPF 2020

• Published: 06 September 2021
• Volume 28 , pages 1276–1297, ( 2021 )

Cite this article

• David R. Agrawal   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8480-1849 1 ,
• Ronald B. Davies 2 ,
• Sara LaLumia 3 ,
• Nadine Riedel 4 &
• Kimberley Scharf 5  

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As the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped public policies and government finances, it has also influenced the topics that public finance economists are researching. Because the 2020 International Institute of Public Finance Congress featured papers that were submitted prior to the start of the pandemic, the Congress allows us to reflect on the state of research prior to the pandemic’s shock to both fiscal policies and our worldview. In this article, the Editors of International Tax and Public Finance reflect on interesting papers that were presented at this internationally representative conference in public economics. The exercise provides insight on where the field of public economics was heading prior to the pandemic and will provide a yardstick to see how the field evolves in the coming years afterward.

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Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

1 Introduction

Why do we go to conferences? When the COVID-19 pandemic forced many conferences to cancel or to go online, it also forced us to confront the answer to that question. From our perspective, the biggest value in going to a conference such as the International Institute of Public Finance (IIPF) Congress is that it provides a very condensed overview of what the field of public economics looks like and allows us to be exposed to research from a diverse group of scholars around the world. This is a remarkably important form of continuous learning. By having a snapshot of research presented over a short time period, it helps us to see what patterns are arising in both research and policy, including topics, data sources, and methodologies.

Due to the pandemic, the 2020 conference needed to be held online, rather than in beautiful Iceland. Perhaps more than other in-person conferences, the virtual format of the IIPF juxtaposed with the massive shock to our worldview from the pandemic, presented the field to us in a way that drew out the trends and fashions in a way we really hadn’t thought of before. This is one of the reasons for this review. The other reason is that there is just so much interesting research being done. Due to added pressures of the pandemic—that have hit some demographics more than others—many of us have fallen behind on our own work, let alone keeping up with the latest working papers. One of the great things about a large conference is that it allows others to tell you about a paper you really wish you had heard. So this also gives us a forum, as editors of this journal, to let you know about some of the papers that we saw, which we personally thought were informative. Footnote 1 In particular, we want to highlight papers by junior researchers who were hit especially hard by the limited networking and social opportunities created by the pandemic.

The recent pandemic was not the first time that a current event disrupted an IIPF conference. But, relative to the last IIPF conference cancellation, the disruption to the profession was muted by our ability to connect virtually. In 1991, the IIPF was scheduled for Leningrad, USSR. However, the 1991 Soviet coup d’état attempt took place just a couple of days before the start date of the conference. Conference organizers decided to cancel the meeting. There certainly could not have been a virtual IIPF conference in 1991. The cancellation of the conference likely slowed research much more so than the shift of the conference to an online format in 2020. Footnote 2 Now, as we face disruptions from the pandemic, academic conferences and other scientific communications have proceeded quite smoothly, relative to the effect of canceling an entire conference in 1991 on the field of public finance. Inevitably, technology has dampened the effect of the shock to the profession from COVID-19.

While the pandemic has dramatically affected regulatory policy, health policy, and fiscal policy, it has also shaped the way we think about research and highlighted the need for more work in some areas. Given papers were submitted to the IIPF 2020 by February, and the COVID-19 pandemic did not rise to international prominence until March 2020, the research presented at this Congress represents the last set of new ideas that were not influenced or shaped by the pandemic’s shock to our worldview. As a result, similar to Kleven ( 2018 ), this provides us with a useful reference point to determine where the field of public economics was heading prior to the pandemic. Footnote 3 This yardstick provides a useful benchmark to determine the undoubtedly lasting impact of the pandemic on the field of public finance. Inevitably, research going forward will be more interdisciplinary as a result of the pandemic, need to grapple with the fiscal pressures created by the pandemic, seek to address important issues of inequality, and focus on the role of decentralization versus centralization in determining optimal policy, especially during a crisis. These are some topics that will be tackled in the 2021 Congress theme.

In looking at the state of public finance immediately prior to the pandemic, we conclude:

Administrative data from around the world allow us to study topics that were unable to be answered previously. These administrative datasets are used in a variety of countries and contexts, including in many developing countries, to precisely answer fundamental questions in public economics. The pandemic will likely increase the importance of administrative data as researchers seek to study the host of policies put into place by state and national governments in response to the crisis.

Even prior to COVID-19 and the recent racial justice protests throughout the world, public finance economists are tackling important issues related to income and wealth inequality, as well as inequality by gender. The large number of papers on the program focusing on inequality contrasts with earlier conferences that were more focused on issues of efficiency. Even despite these trends, at this Congress, much less attention appears to be focused on issues of racial inequality. We expect the pandemic will only increase the need to study issues of economic (in)equality.

Even before the pandemic, many papers feature coauthors across multiple fields, with researchers in public economics teaming up with experts in health economics, industrial organization, urban, international trade, labor economics, macroeconomics, or economic demography. Perhaps not appreciated as much, are collaborations outside of economics—with political scientists, lawyers, sociologists, epidemiologists, or public health scholars, etc. The pandemic highlights the need for a broader perspective.

Surveys, as a means of understanding attitudes toward government policies or redistribution, are becoming an important part of public finance research. More generally, the use of surveys fits with numerous papers tackling behavioral public economics issues. Researchers during the pandemic have begun using these surveys to shed light on the future of telework or perceptions of regulatory policies.

Although good theory is extremely important, empirical public economics has displaced theoretical public finance in terms of the sheer number of papers presented on the program. At the same time, we are heartened by several papers that attempt to tightly link both theory and empirics—this is a skill that is not appreciated enough. We hope many authors attempt to combine a unique blend of theory and empirics in future work. Faced with uncertainty from a massive shock, good theory is important to generating useful predictions and good empirics is useful for making our theories more realistic.

Against that backdrop, in this article, we proceed in three steps. First, we summarize the International Tax and Public Finance (ITAX) PhD Student Award that was given at the 2020 Congress. Second, ITAX’s 2020 editors, Ron, Sara, and Kim summarize some of their thoughts from the 2020 Congress. Finally, ITAX’s new 2021 editors, David and Nadine, summarize some of their reflections. Footnote 4

2 IIPF PhD student award winner: Thiago Scot

The ITAX award for the best paper presented by a PhD student Footnote 5 was given to Thiago Scot of the University of California - Berkeley for his paper “ Corporate Taxation and Evasion Responses: Evidence from a Minimum Tax in Honduras ” (Lobel et al., 2020 ). With 62 submissions, many of which were very strong, choosing a single winner was not easy. This paper initially made the shortlist for two key reasons. First, its focus on corporate tax evasion was very much in step with current events. Although tax evasion has long been a key research area in public economics (Slemrod, 2019 ), it has become an increasingly important topic of discussion in policy circles and the general public. Second, its use of administrative data and the bunching methodology places the paper’s approach at the forefront of research in the field.

What ultimately led us to choose it as the 2020 winner, however, were two key features. First, unlike the bulk of the literature that focuses on the tax minimization efforts of firms in the OECD, this paper looks at those efforts in a developing country. This matters because little is known about whether the lessons learned from developed economies apply to those countries developing their economies. In particular, because the developing world is relatively more reliant on tax revenues generated from corporate income when compared to the OECD, understanding the scale and nature of how tax minimization works in such a context is critical to overhauling international tax rules in an equitable manner. Second - and a key aspect of the IIPF prize - was the excellent presentation delivered by the now, Dr. Scot. The ability to do solid, innovative economic research is one thing; the ability to get across what was done and why it matters in a clear, concise way is another. For the research presented at the IIPF to make the greatest impact, both of these must come together.

We thank all of the authors and presenters who asked to be considered and look forward to continued hard decisions in awarding the prize during the 2021 Congress.

3 Comments from the 2020 editors-in-chief

3.1 ron’s thoughts.

Looking at the congress program, one thing that struck me was the work being done on tax evasion. First, the sheer volume of papers on the topic is impressive. In part, this is stemming from better data. In particular, administrative data are used in Nivala et al. ( 2020 ), Lobel et al. ( 2020 ), Bazzoli et al. ( 2020 ), Leenders et al. ( 2020 ), and others. This gives us an ability to directly get at the heart of the issue in a way we have not been able to before. Beyond that, there is growing creativity in how we measure a phenomenon that by its very nature is supposed to be hard to detect.

Estimating Tax Noncompliance Among Self-Employed With Evidence From Pleasure Boat Registers For example, Johannes Hagen presented work using pleasure boat registrations in Sweden and Finland to tease out whether the self-employed (who may be able to evade taxes easier) differ in consumption patterns (Engstrøm et al., 2020 ). Because they find no differences across groups, this gives them a boost of confidence in using the Pissarides and Weber ( 1989 ) method of determining evasion among the self-employed.

Beyond those papers, and perhaps more importantly, there is clearly a rise in interest in the topic. To me, this is most evident by the fact that this year’s congress had three sessions titled “Tax Evasion.” At the 2015 IIPF congress that I hosted in Dublin, there were no sessions called that. Instead, the papers on tax evasion were included in sessions on, for example, the impact of tax treaties. Why the rise in interest? While better data makes the research easier (although I use that word semi-sarcastically) and events such as the Panama Papers leak have increased public interest in the topic, I see a more fundamental cultural shift in our approach to the issue. In particular, I noticed that we now simply call it “tax evasion,” a term that has a clear moral and legal implications, rather than give the taxpayer the benefit of the doubt. In 2015, most papers used the term “tax avoidance” rather than tax evasion to highlight the potential that not all strategies to minimize taxation were illegal. Further, this term steers clear of any moral condemnation of economic agents undertaking actions to sidestep tax liabilities. In 2020, however, the preferred term was tax evasion which suggests a violation of the social contract. This suggests a shift in perspective to the topic which is certainly a reflection of the wider public perception that when firms and individuals—particularly those at the top of the income distribution—avoid significant tax liabilities, that this behavior is unfair even when the means used are technically legal. So while the data are still the data and the models must continue to abide by the mathematical rules, this feels like a fundamental change in how researchers engage with the topic that will have an important implication for how we disseminate our academic research to policy makers and the broader public. Perhaps those observations are not surprising given my own research focus on foreign direct investment and international trade, with taxation—and tax evasion—being a key part of the stories I tell.

Tariff Elimination versus Tax Avoidance: Free Trade Agreements and Transfer Pricing Likewise, it probably should not be a shock that one paper I found particularly interesting was Mukunoki and Okoshi ( 2021 ), which focuses on the role rules of origin have in transfer pricing. For the non-trade nerd, when a preferential trade agreement (PTA) is formed between two countries and lowers tariffs between them, imports do not automatically qualify for reduced import duties. Instead, rules of origin regulations require the importer to verify that the imported good actually comes from the PTA partner. This is to stop exports from non-partner countries simply being routed through a partner country to avoid the standard tariff. Typically, this is achieved by value-added tests that specify how much of the value must be generated in a partner in order to qualify for reduced tariffs. Footnote 6 For a multinational, this can present an interesting trade-off, particularly when PTA members have high taxes. On the one hand, it can produce outside the PTA and transfer price, incurring high tariffs but low taxes. On the other, it can shift production into a high-tax PTA country which destroys the incentive to transfer price but secures a lower tariff. As such, rules of origin in a PTA can mitigate abusive transfer pricing. Beyond a clever insight, I liked this paper because it shows a clear-cut interaction between international trade and tax policies and highlights how looking at just one can miss important responses to policy.

Optimization Frictions and the Fixed Cost of Proft Shifting Continuing on the topic of transfer pricing, Bilicka et al. ( 2020 ) provides an answer to a question that has been bothering me for years. When modeling transfer pricing, the standard approach dates back to Allingham and Sandmo ( 1972 ), where the cost of transfer pricing is an increasing function of the gap between the “true” price of the internal transaction and the reported price. This begs all sorts of questions, one of the most important of which is whether those costs are largely variable (which might point to an equilibrium in which all firms cook the books at least a little) or fixed (where only those firms with the most to gain engage in transfer pricing). Using administrative data on profits reported in the UK, the authors examine what happened when Italy altered its controlled foreign corporation rules in 2002 and Germany cut its tax in 2008. In both cases, the results point toward changes at the extensive margin (whether positive profits were reported at all) rather than the intensive margin (the size of those profits conditional on them being positive). This then points to a significant role for fixed costs of profit shifting. This matters for two reasons. First, it suggests that profit shifting is mostly driven by a subset of multinationals. Footnote 7 This would then suggest that by targeting a limited number of well-chosen firms, revenue officials may be able to address a significant share of aggregate profit shifting. Second, it would imply that tax policy changes will have very different effects across firms. Going one step further, this provides additional insights into how firm responses to tax policy can result in significant equilibrium effects such as changes to industry concentration (see Martin et al. 2020 ).

The Elusive Banker: Using Hurricanes to Uncover (Non-)activity in Offshore Financial Centers Of course, no discussion of international tax evasion would be complete without a discussion of tax havens. For me, Miethe ( 2020 ) filled this void with a creative and literally “natural” experiment. Among researchers on tax evasion, offshore financial centers such as those found in the Caribbean exist because of their low tax rates. Combined with overall stability and secrecy, this means that they provide a safe, tax free location for profits. These locations, however, are quick to suggest that this is not enough and that their specialized human capital explains the very high profits booked in within their borders. This latter explanation, however, would suggest an overall robust local economy in which local and multinational activity follow broadly similar trends. To test this, Miethe ( 2020 ) considers hurricanes that strike different islands at different times and with different intensities (as measured by changes in geospatial nightlight data). Doing so results in two findings. First, international investors respond to the natural disaster only in non-tax havens with no response found in havens. Second, in havens, there is a response by local companies but not by international ones. This suggests that foreign investments in tax havens have little to do with local economic conditions. Beyond using an innovative identification technique (presumably, hurricanes are fairly exogenous to investment patterns), this mirrors the overall mood in which tax avoidance really is evasion, i.e. minimizing taxes for the few without bringing benefits to the many.

Gender Differences in Tax Evasion: Evidence from Norwegian Microdata Moving from firm to household evasion, I found the results of Brun Bjørkheim and Nygård ( 2020 ) intriguing. Focusing on self-employed workers in Norway, they use administrative data and the Pissarides and Weber ( 1989 ) approach to ask how income underreporting varies by, among other things, gender. The revelation in their results is not that underreporting varies across people, but that it is most prevalent among self-employed women in cohabiting households. If asked, I would have presumed that males would evade the most due to an assumed greater tolerance for risk. As the authors note, however, the results must be interpreted cautiously because the Pissarides and Weber ( 1989 ) methodology assumes identical spending patterns across individuals. If women spend differently (e.g. on charitable giving), this can result in a mismeasurement of underreported income that varies along with an individual’s observable characteristics. Beyond an interesting and surprising result, this matters in a number of ways. First, there are obviously behavioral differences across genders that have been documented in numerous situations and this suggests that tax policy is no different. That matters because it suggests that using nudges and other soft mechanisms may have differential effects on different taxpayers. Second, as with the efficiency gains from focusing enforcement on the firms most likely to shift profits, understanding who to target in individual tax enforcement can increase revenues at minimal cost—whether we want to use that information is another question. Third, although Norway may be well below the OECD average in the gender wage gap, these differentials persist. As workplace equality (hopefully) continues to improve and puts more women in higher income and self-employed positions, understanding their differential approaches to tax compliance can provide better predictions for changes in tax takes.

While I could go on and on about tax evasion, I want to conclude by pointing out two papers on women and politics that I found particularly interesting. Presented back to back, they gave useful insights into the lack of gender diversity at the highest levels of political office.

Gender Gaps in Political Careers: Evidence from Competitive Elections The first was Cipullo ( 2020 ) who used the two stage election processes in the US and Italy to examine the political careers of men and women over a long horizon. He did so in two steps. First, he compares the election success of men and women who barely qualified in the first round of the election process (i.e. marginally won a U.S. primary or just qualified for the run-off election in Italy). In doing so, he finds that such women are 20 to 40% less likely to be elected than their male counterparts. This initial disparity is only part of the story however because early successes are significant predictors of future successes. Thus, when comparing two candidates who are comparable except for their gender, because men are more successful than women in their early career, this tends to lead to future success and higher office attainment.

A Leaky Pipeline: Recontest Rates and the Underrepresentation of Women in Politics This future success story was then continued in the paper by Baskaran and Hessami ( 2020 ), who looked at local election recontesting, i.e. whether a prior candidate even stands in a second election. Using data from Hesse, Germany, they find that female candidates are 5.7% less likely to run again when compared to comparable male candidates. What is most interesting is that the factor that appears to best explain this gap is the work environment. In places where meetings are frequent and take place in the evenings, the gender gap is largest, suggesting that such practices may be a particular barrier for women council members for whom familial duties take priority.

In listening to these two studies, I couldn’t help but draw parallels between political life and academic life. It is undeniable that Economics is currently by-and-large a male-dominated profession. It is also no secret that early publication success, working late into the night, and being gone from home for seminars and conferences are factors that feed into academic success. If there are biases in the referee and editorial process, this bias early in career can also significantly affect gender balance at the senior levels of the discipline. Further, if the traditional hallmarks of success are incompatible with home life, this can further freeze out female scholars. With COVID-19 highlighting gender imbalances in the burden of managing home and work (see Zimmer, 2020 for discussion), these seem like lessons for us all to ponder.

3.2 Sara’s thoughts

When attending a conference in person, it’s possible to become deeply immersed in talks and conference events with few reminders of the outside world. Participating in a virtual conference doesn’t provide the same kind of escape. (I will sheepishly admit that I propped my laptop near the sink and washed a few dishes during one of the IIPF keynotes.) While I don’t want to multi-task during all future conferences, I did appreciate the fact that keeping an eye on the news during the 2020 Congress nudged me to sample from the conference offerings in new ways. The COVID-19 pandemic and the groundswell of social justice activism prompted me to think more about inequality. I found that my attention was particularly drawn to a handful of papers offering new insights into causes of inequality or analyzing policies designed to redistribute income. Several papers expanded my understanding of potential root causes of inequality.

Long-Term Effects of Equal Sharing: Evidence from Historical Inheritance Rules for Land . Bartels et al. ( 2020 ) consider the impacts of different types of inheritance laws. In some parts of Germany, 19th century inheritance law dictated that land be divided equally between all of a decedent’s children. Other areas mandated that inherited land was not divisible, and that all of a decedent’s land must go to a single heir. The authors make use of newly digitized historical agricultural and occupational census data to link these legal regimes with subsequent economic outcomes. They employ a geographic RD design, showing that inheritance rules changed sharply at borders, but that other potential determinants of long run growth are smooth across borders. Not surprisingly, localities requiring land to be equally distributed across heirs experienced a more even distribution of property in the 19th century. These areas industrialized at earlier dates, and in modern data, have higher levels of GDP per capita, labor productivity, and top incomes. Interestingly, these areas with a history of more equal land distribution now have a less equal income distribution, with higher top income shares.

Importing Inequality: Top Income Growth and the Globalization of the Elite . Immigration can influence the level of inequality within a society, and much has been written about the impacts of immigrants on low-skilled labor markets. Advani et al. ( 2020 ) turn the focus to the highest earners. They make use of administrative data on taxpayers in the UK, where the algorithm used to generate National Insurance Numbers makes it possible to identify individuals who migrated to the UK at age 18 or older. They find that immigrants are concentrated at the top of the income distribution. The share of migrants in the top 1% is about 1.4 times the share of migrants in the bottom 10%. Migrants in the top 1% are primarily earning labor income, more so than capital income, and are heavily concentrated in the finance industry. The authors carry out a decomposition exercise to estimate that migration has accounted for 85% of the growth in the top 1% income share over the last two decades.

Corporate Taxation and the Distribution of Income . Of course the tax system can affect inequality, sometimes in surprising ways. Hines ( 2020 ) points out that an increase in corporate tax rates can increase inequality, even if the corporate tax is borne by (high-income) owners of capital. The mechanism is that a higher corporate tax rate shifts activity from the corporate sector to the noncorporate sector, where idiosyncratic risk is higher. (Corporations spread risk across shareholders in ways that noncorporate entities, such as partnerships, do not.) Those who strike it lucky in risky noncorporate activity become very rich, while those who are unlucky in noncorporate activity fall to a lower income level. This ultimately leads to a more dispersed distribution of income than would have been realized in an economy with more corporate activity.

Many papers on the program analyzed the effects of redistributive policies. Not every policy designed to mitigate inequality necessarily does so.

Who Paid the French 75% Tax on Millionaires? Guillot ( 2020 ) shows that it is often not the millionaires themselves. Using a sample of high-income wage earners, she finds that, on average, employers bear more than half of a large, temporary tax increase. There are differences across occupation and sector, with managers bearing a larger share of the tax and athletes bearing much less. Along with using other strategies, high-wage executives re-time the receipt of certain payments to reduce their tax liability.

Family Policies and Child-Related Earnings Gaps in Germany . In this article, policies that are not explicitly redistributive are shown to have important distributional consequences. Bönke et al. ( 2020 ) use administrative data to estimate motherhood wage penalties over a long time period, 1949 to 2015, which includes the implementation of several different parental leave policies. Leave policies increase job security for mothers, as intended, but they have made the motherhood wage penalty grow.

Do Left-wing Governments Decrease Wage Inequality? Empirical Evidence Based on Salaries of Civil Servants . Kauder et al. ( 2020 ) focus on policy makers rather than on a particular policy. Members of German state governments have the ability to set pay structures for certain types of civil servants, including police officers and judges. Despite rhetoric to the contrary, there is no evidence that left-wing politicians set more equitable salary structures.

Regardless of whether a conference is online or in person, the number of sessions I’d like to attend always far exceeds the number I can actually attend. Thus, it is very possible that I missed it, but I saw little discussion of race. The events of 2020 have helped me to think more about racial justice, both within and outside of the economics profession, and it is a topic I hope to see represented in future IIPF programs—whether virtual or, someday, once again in person.

3.3 Kim’s thoughts

I did not get to listen to as many presentations as I wanted to at the IIPF 2020 Congress but limited as my experience was, it provided a virtual escape from the grind of pandemic induced isolation. The 2020 IIPF Congress had no papers about the economic effects of the pandemic on its program. This is not surprising as the program was not only set far in advance of the actual event, but during the Congress itself, the pandemic was very much ongoing and recent. Certainly, not enough time had passed to allow for the collection and analysis of data concerning its economic effects. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but wonder how the pandemic would affect the answers to some of the questions being asked on the program and how the pandemic would shape the future of public finance research.

My curiosity was further whetted after listening to the Congress’ Opening and first Plenary by Ottmar Edenhofer. Edenhofer wove some emerging evidence about how COVID-19 induced lockdowns reduced global emissions, but only to 2006 levels, into his interesting talk on “Pigou in the Post COVID-19 Era—A Tribute on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the Publication of The Economics of Welfare .” Footnote 8 This unexpected positive effect of COVID-19 was not large enough to alleviate the well-known emissions related pressures associated with implementation of Pigouvian remedies, but it pointed to the possibilities that a bit of lemonade might be made from the lemons that the pandemic has presented to the world.

With respect to my own recent research interests on the economics of charity, my thoughts have wandered around questions relating to how the pandemic will affect: individual decisions about whether to donate, how to donate, who to donate to, how much to donate, and when to donate; private and public providers of public goods and services decisions about how much, how, and what to produce; and inequality related tensions caused by changes in the boundaries between the private provision and public provision of public goods and services.

Some musings about the likely effect of the pandemic on individual donation decisions happened in June 2020, just three months after the UK went into the first hard pandemic-induced lockdown. In our article about it, Pinkney and Scharf ( 2020 ), rather disingenuously, we thought that because COVID-19 has increased uncertainty about individual’s future health/economic outcomes and because it has induced changes in government policies, it would disrupt people’s choices! Our reasoning was basic ... COVID-19 induced changes to policy and uncertainty changes people’s underlying present/future constraints (income, prices) and expectations so people re-maximize their own utility subject to new constraints/expectations. This leads to new individual optimal choices and a different overall allocation of resources in the economy. Thus COVID-19 has implications for equity/efficiency and overall welfare.

This is where my mind was at when listening to papers from the 2020 IIPF Congress. I enjoyed the papers that I heard, but I really wondered how the pandemic would affect some of the conclusions. Of particular interest to me were Schön ( 2020 ) and Di Gialleonardo et al. ( 2020 ).

The Role of a Pension Fund . Schön ( 2020 ) examines the role of state pensions when evaluated against a backdrop of two types of demographic change: increasing life expectancy, and fluctuations in cohort size. Both of these demographic changes imply different types of ageing effects. Increasing life expectancy delivers a slow and steady ageing effect, while in comparison, fluctuations in cohort size translate into faster, less permanent and non-monotonic ageing effects. Each type of ageing effect has a different implication for Pay as You Go (PAYGO) pension plan returns: fluctuating cohort sizes lead to positive returns for some and negative returns for others, while increasing life expectancy has a positive impact on returns. Additional analysis suggests that there is a 1.5% differential in returns between generations. Mitigating this differential could be achieved by separately targeting the ageing effect and the cohort effect. The former would require an increase in the retirement age in Germany to 81 by the year 2100 (from 60 in the year 1960). The latter effect could be remedied by stabilizing the pension system through a pension fund, which would amount to more than 40% of GDP were it introduced in 1960.

I really enjoyed this paper. The numbers are quite extraordinary but not surprising, even if they are too big to imagine that such corrections would ever happen in the real world. Working to 81? Not me. Now think about the pandemic. Even though it is too early to determine whether COVID-19 has affected life expectancy or cohort size, the kinds of demographic change that we have seen in the past, it has without a doubt generated enormous costs for individuals, firms and public sectors around the world. The Congressional Budget Office in the U.S., estimates the cost of the pandemic to be on the order of 7.6 trillion dollar’s worth of lost output over the next decade (Congressional Budget Office, 2020 ). But this number is just about lost gross domestic product (GDP). When also taking into account the costs of mortality, morbidity, mental health conditions, as well as direct economic losses, the cost leaps to an astounding 16 trillion dollars, or about 90% of the US’ annual GDP (Cutler and Summers, 2020 ). And other countries are in the same boat. In the UK, government borrowing from April 2020 to 2021 was \(\pounds\) 299 billion, the highest figure recorded since records began in 1946, and the Canadian government’s spending on COVID-19 measured was $240 billion by December 2020, about eight months into the pandemic. I look forward to future research on the role of pensions, but COVID-19 induced pressures on the public finances will surely not permit any kind of blue skies dreams of a world without differentials in PAYGO returns across generations.

The Adequate Rate of Substitution at Retirement and the Role of Pension Funds: Evidence from Italian Data . Di Gialleonardo et al. ( 2020 ) addresses the importance of private pension funds in providing an ageing population in supporting the benefits of state pensions. Using Italian data, the authors estimate an adequate net replacement rate range that would allow maintenance of standards of living in old age of 85.60% to 86.02%. The upshot is that private pension plans are crucial for maintaining a balanced social security system. An immediate inference is that threats to this ‘second pillar’ (the first being state pensions) would threaten the health of the public finances and/or the well-being of the aged population. But what bigger threat to the stability of the second pillar than COVID-19? People’s incomes have been affected by the lockdown and recession. Some have been able to continue fully working from home and may have experienced no change in their income. Others will have lost their jobs and will experience a period of unemployment. Others are able to work from home, but because of the general contraction of all sectors of the economy, are not earning as much money as they did previously. Along with changes in income, social distancing requirements have changed the composition of expenditures and the amount of money that is being spent. The overall effect on people’s disposable incomes, labor/leisure choices and savings decisions are thus uncertain. In addition, the crisis is likely to have caused a structural shift in people’s expectations and in how they discount the future. Contributing factors include uncertainty around how long there will be pressure on health services and equipment, people’s health concerns for themselves and their loved ones, the effectiveness of vaccines against variants, uncertainty about future financial market outcomes, and uncertainty about how the public finances will be brought to order. It is not clear how these channels will affect people’s labor choices and pension/savings decisions. Evidence from economic research tells us that more uncertainty should lead to more precautionary savings. What this means for the second pillar of the social security system is just not clear.

It remains to be seen what are the effects of the current crisis on the public finances and well-being of humanity, but one thing for sure is that there will be many things to look forward to at future IIPF Congresses, as data becomes available and the pandemic effects (hopefully) wind down and become relegated to history.

4 Comments from the new editors-in-chief

4.1 david’s thoughts.

Due to time zone differences as a result of an online format, in addition to family responsibilities at home, I missed being able to see as many papers as I normally would like to see during an IIPF Congress. Thus, I will comment on some papers that I saw at the conference, while also discussing papers that were on the IIPF program that I’ve seen or heard about in other capacities, such as in seminars or from colleagues. I was struck by the large number of papers on the topic of inequality, but also by the many papers that studied—theoretically or empirically—the effect of policies with redistributive goals. I also appreciate the intersection of economic history and public finance, because by understanding the past, we can better understand the future. While none of the papers below combine theory and empirics, I also appreciated the small number of papers on the program that truly attempted to integrate good theory and empirics.

Information, Ethnic Diversity, and Preferences for Redistribution . In a contribution to the behavioral public finance (Bernheim and Taubinsky, 2018 ) literature, Foremny ( 2020 ) discusses the role of people’s misperceptions about the tax law on how individuals think about tax reform. To do this, he conducts a large-scale survey in Spain that documents misunderstandings of marginal versus average tax rates, the tax burden that individuals face, and the level of government responsible for collecting the taxes. He then provides taxpayers with various information treatments in order to see how their views on inequality and redistributive policy change.

In the context of the survey, he shows that individuals underestimate the marginal tax rate in their survey response relative to “true” tax liability obtained from a tax simulator. Consistent with Gideon ( 2017 ), taxpayers appear to confuse the average and marginal tax rates and underestimate their true tax liability. Moreover, although revenue from the personal income tax is split equally between the central government and regional governments in Spain, only 10% of taxpayers are aware of this split. Most people think that tax revenues disproportionately fund central government revenues.

Taxpayers then receive different treatments. One group is given information that regional governments indeed have the power to change marginal tax rates and that tax revenue is evenly split between regional and central governments. Another treatment shows individuals how much taxes they should have paid for an additional hundred Euros earned.

After the treatment, individuals are then asked about various reform options. After receiving the correct information about their marginal tax rates, individuals are more likely to support more progressive tax reforms. Such a result suggests that people’s pre-treatment views on progressivity are influenced by their personal beliefs that their own marginal tax rates are too high. Moreover, individuals that received information on the distribution of tax revenues between the regional and central government are more likely to regard inequality as a problem. This latter view represents an important contribution in a multicultural (and multi-tiered) country with strong regional identities, such as Spain. It suggests that people are more inclined to view inequality as a problem, when they know that the tax revenue funds services for individuals similar to them (i.e. in the same region). See Alesina and Stantcheva ( 2020 ) on the role of ethnicity.

The paper represents an important contribution because policymakers often use polling as an influential tool to decide what reforms are politically popular. This paper suggests that any polling numbers may be a result of misinformation and misunderstandings about policy. In turn, the polls that politicians use to shape their views of democracy, and the political platforms they will advocate for, may have substantial error compared to if individuals had perfect information about the tax system. This may lead to even more incremental change than is socially desirable. Thus, if polling is biased as a result of people’s own misperceptions, how should politicians use voter preferences to dictate policies? Should polls be used to help make policy? Should governments try to correct this misinformation or does failing to correct for it lead to its own policy goals? These are some of the important questions raised by the analysis in this paper that the literature should address in the future.

Taxing Mobile and Overconfident Top Earners . Against the backdrop of increasing inequality, bonus payment and incentive pay for top earnings has increased dramatically in recent years, as has rent seeking by CEOs (Piketty et al., 2014 ). At the same time, the behavioral literature suggests that individuals, especially top earners, may overestimate their abilities and are overconfident. Haufler and Nishimura ( 2020 ) construct a theoretical model where overconfident managers receive compensation in the form of a fixed wage and a bonus payment, but face a tax rate on the bonus payment. The authors then consider an open economy with mobility and study how tax competition for mobile overconfident managers affects the compensation structure for firms and the tax rate that governments set.

The authors first show that the share of the bonus compensation is increasing in the overconfidence of managers. The increased reliance on bonuses thus makes the distribution of income more unequal. Despite increasing the bonuses, higher levels of overconfidence are negatively related to the revenue maximizing bonus tax rates among competing governments. Intuitively, because managers are overconfident, they anticipate paying the bonus tax at a higher probability than they actually would pay the tax, which raises the elasticity of migration. Thus, overconfidence makes labor more mobile in response to expected tax payments. Factoring in this higher elasticity, governments set a lower tax rate on bonuses. Thus, whether revenue rises or falls depends on two offsetting factors: the increased tax base from added reliance on bonuses in contracts and the lower tax rate as a result of higher migration elasticities. The authors show that in their model, the former effect dominates and revenues increase in overconfidence.

Under a more general interpretation of the bonus tax, it can be viewed as an additional tax rate on top incomes. Given research shows that tax systems have become less progressive in recent years (Egger et al., 2019 ), the authors identify an interesting interaction between increased mobility and behavioral factors such as overconfidence. But, overconfidence may arise along other dimensions. For example, what if behavioral concerns influence people’s perceptions about their ability to be caught in the act of tax evasion? Moreover, to what extent do incentive contracts reflect shareholder value theories or rent extraction by managers? In particular, future research might explore whether the effects depend on if incentive contracts are productivity enhancing or are tools for rent extraction. Regardless, given recent trends and the ability of top earners to move across regions, Footnote 9 tax competition remains an important factor influencing the taxation of top earners.

Delaying Retirement and Mortality: Evidence from Pension Reforms . In addition to the income distribution, public policies and government programs can have important consequences on the demographic distribution within countries, which may then affect the solvency of social security programs. Malkova ( 2020a ) studies the effect of major pension reforms, that induce individuals to delay retirement, on mortality rates later in life. The paper is motivated by the fact that many countries around the world have policies that provide financial incentives to delay retirement, and thus knowing how public pensions influence health status and longevity later in life is critical for understanding the long-term policies of aging societies.

The literature linking work at older ages and mortality has not reached a consensus. The paper contributes to the literature, by examining the effect of a voluntary delay in retirement in a historical context. Previous work mostly focused on estimating effects of changing the statutory retirement ages, or providing early retirement options to specific groups of workers. Moreover, the historical perspective that the paper takes allows it to study the long-run effects that are essential to make an accurate cost-benefit evaluation of the reform.

To do this, the paper evaluates a 1964 pension reform in Soviet Russia, that provided financial incentives to delay retirement. Before the reform, if pensioners kept working, they kept on average 30% of the pension. After the reform, pensioners kept on average 56% of the pension. Men became eligible for pensions at age 60. Of course, one may be concerned that the pension reform’s financial incentives were limited in Soviet Russia, but Malkova ( 2020b ) shows that financial incentives were critical, and these pension reforms increased employment rates by 47% five years after the reform.

To now study the effect of the reform on mortality, the author digitizes previously unexplored hand-written datasets from the national archives in Russia. The data contain precise internal data from Soviet records on the number of deaths by age, state, and gender. This represents the most comprehensive database of Soviet mortality records, and is an important historical contribution that allows the author to trace out long-run effects of the reform.

The paper exploits a generalized difference-in-differences design by comparing the age cohort that reached the pensionable age of 60 for men after the reform (treatment group) to the age cohort that reached pensionable age prior to the reform (control group), i.e. when they had less financial incentive to keep working, once they became eligible for pensions. Twelve years after the reform, mortality rates went up by 14% among men, suggesting that working longer had adverse health consequences. Given much of the Soviet economy was in manufacturing and more blue collar jobs, the external validity of the study applies to certain types of occupations, but occupations that are important today in many countries.

Critically, this paper shows that policies designed to encourage people to delay retirement can have unintended consequences on their health status. Although the individuals willingly decide to work longer, they may have imperfect information on the long-term consequences of working longer. Again, misconceptions may play a critical role. The results of this study suggest that policies that delay retirement may not pass a benefit-cost test, especially when considering strenuous jobs. Thus, a standard policy option used to reform old-age support programs may have unintended negative consequences. If the costs of delaying retirement ages are reflected in higher mortality rates, what are other policies that aging societies can adopt to reform their social security systems? Understanding the demographic effects Footnote 10 of public policies remains critical to determining the best policies for the long-term.

4.2 Nadine’s thoughts

My research productivity slumped during the first COVID-19 lockdown when I shared my home office with our kids. Attending the 2020 congress was one of the first opportunities to breathe some “research air” again and I greatly enjoyed the many great papers presented. Below I sketch some papers that I particularly liked (but there were many others as well!).

Corporate Taxes and Multi-product Exporters: Theory and Evidence from Trade Dynamics . Flach et al. ( 2020 ) study the link between corporate taxes and international trade. While we, by now, have a good understanding of how corporate taxation impacts firm location, investment choices, profit allocation and financing decisions, it is largely unclear if and how they affect firm competitiveness and trade patterns. This gap in the literature is quite striking given that improving the competitive stance of domestic firms in international product markets is one of the most commonly stated policy goals when corporate tax rates are cut.

Flach et al. ( 2020 ) introduce tax policy in a trade model of multi-product firms. Producers face tougher competition in export markets with lower corporate tax rates. The model predicts that a lower corporate tax rate in the destination market increases the price elasticity of export demand, as effective production costs of local firms are reduced. Faced with stronger competition, firms that sell to the destination market drop high cost varieties and hence reduce the exported product range. The authors take these predictions to the data and find strong support for their theoretical predictions.

Do Tax Loss Provisions Distort Venture Capital Funding of Start-ups? In another interesting paper, Bührle ( 2020 ) assesses how corporate taxation impacts start-ups and venture capital funding. The paper is particularly topical as entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals were hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis and there are considerable concerns among policymakers and academics that company foundation rates may decline in response (from already low levels in many European countries). Instruments that foster start-up activity and entrepreneurship are thus high on policymakers’ agendas.

In her research, Bührle ( 2020 ) focuses on anti-tax loss trafficking rules, which disallow the use of loss carryforwards after a change in ownership. The rationale for these rules is to prevent abusive transactions, where firms buy bankrupt corporate shells with loss carryforwards to reduce their corporate tax burden. Bührle ( 2020 ), in turn, shows that there is a downside to these provisions, as they may impair venture capital funding and the formation of new companies and start-up firms: if, due to the anti-tax loss trafficking regulation, accumulated losses become worthless when venture capital investors exit the company, this lowers company value and therefore incentives to grant venture capital in the first place.

Using rich data on venture capital-funded companies and exploiting variation in anti-loss trafficking rules in European countries, Bührle ( 2020 ) finds that strict anti-loss trafficking provisions indeed impair venture capital funding, while less restrictive regulations do not exert adverse effects. More mature companies and companies in high-tech industries are reported to be negatively affected.

Tax Evasion, Public Goods and Tax Progressivity: Evidence from Taxing the Ghosts . The 2020 congress program also featured many interesting papers on tax evasion. Tax evasion is a prevalent problem around the world and often hard to tackle as authorities lack appropriate monitoring techniques. Digitization offers new options to shed light on the shadow economy. In this regard, I particularly liked Rubolino ( 2020 ), which is on the “Ghost Buildings Program,” where Italian authorities used high-resolution aerial photographs of the entire country to identify buildings that were not registered on official land registry maps and thus escaped property and income taxation, the waste disposal tax and payment of a registration fee. The program was highly successful and detected more than two million ghost buildings that were hidden from the tax authorities.

Rubolino ( 2020 ) shows that the intervention resulted in a significant increase in tax revenue collection at the local level. Rubolino ( 2020 ) documents that the intervention changed the composition of the local public revenues: municipal tax collection increased while central government grants shrank (central government reduced transfers to municipalities based on the projected ghost buildings’ tax payments). Substituting government grants with tax revenue is shown to affect public spending choices as suggested by political agency models: municipalities, in response to the Ghost Buildings program, spent more resources on schools and less on administration—a finding, which is in line with the notion that spending is geared toward salient spending categories that please voters when revenue is raised through taxes rather than through grant money.

In It Together? Inequality and the Joint Distribution of Income and Wealth in Switzerland . Finally, I appreciated the many interesting papers on economic inequality in the program. The COVID-19 crisis, for me, served as a strong reminder that inequality has many faces: there are inequalities in income, inequalities in wealth, health and unemployment risks, childcare and housework, just to name a few.

Martinez ( 2020 ) assesses the interaction of two dimensions of inequality: income and wealth. Martinez ( 2020 ) uses rich data from individual tax filings in Switzerland to study the joint distribution of wealth and income. Several interesting descriptive findings emerge. First, she documents a strong positive correlation between wealth and income, especially at the very top (which rejects the narrative of billionaires who only earn little income); second, wealth mobility across time is documented to be significantly smaller than income mobility, especially in the tails of the distribution; third, inter-vivos gifts and inheritances increase intragenerational wealth mobility. But at the same time, there is strong correlation between the wealth rank of those leaving and those receiving an inheritance.

Martinez ( 2020 ) discusses implications of these patterns for the design of redistributive taxation, for the design of pension systems and for counter-cyclical fiscal policy. Her research is a great example that even purely descriptive evidence offers very valuable insights for economic policy.

5 Conclusion

Where will the field of public economics go from here? How will conferences and the research presented at those conferences be shaped by the pandemic? These are important, but difficult, questions to answer. Many classic issues in public economics will remain important research areas for years to come—a testament to the timeless nature of some questions in public finance. Nevertheless, the pandemic has opened up new and interesting questions that public economists can shed light on—especially relating to inequality, welfare implications, and how to optimally design policy responses by using empirically estimated causal estimates. As noted in Wildasin ( 2021 ), many questions in public economics remain “open.”

As we noted in the introduction, the field of public finance is becoming increasingly broad, drawing inspiration from other fields in economics: health economics, international trade, industrial organization, urban, labor economics, macroeconomics. The writer Samuel Johnson said “Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” Our good friend, and a former ITAX editor, David Wildasin often changes this to say “When you are tired of public finance, you are tired of economics; for there is in public finance all that economics can afford.” His justification—public economics is like London, because public economics touches on everything (and every field) that economics has to offer. Footnote 11 Our review of the conference program indicates that this is true.

At the same time, public economics could benefit from interdisciplinary research spanning academic disciplines: political science, sociology, law, finance, accounting, public health, etc. Some of this work has already begun, with tax lawyers working with economists to determine taxing rights, tax accountants working with economists on issues of tax evasion, and the pandemic has prompted collaborations with public health and epidemiology scholars. We have much to contribute to these other disciplines, and we have much to learn from them.

We were impressed with how the IIPF congress featured so many papers at the crossroads of public finance and a different field in economics. It is refreshing to see the conference being used as a vehicle to break down field-based silos in the discipline of economics. We hope future congresses can break down those silos at an even broader academic level to shed light on important topics.

We were also impressed by papers that combined theory and empirics. In this way, theory provides useful empirical predictions or sheds light on identification strategies, and the empirical analysis provides empirical results that allows authors to refine the theory to make it more realistic. We hope future work will have an ever tighter link between theory and empirics, including author teams that draw from both backgrounds.

Finally, one of the most refreshing aspects of the IIPF Congress is the participation from scholars across many different countries of the world. Given the importance of institutions, and the details of country-specific policies, we also appreciated the work on the Congress program that featured multi-national and sometimes multi-continent research teams. The field of public economics is better and more diverse because of these collaborations.

We hope to see you at the next Congress of the IIPF conference!

Please note that we are not writing referee reports on these papers (or making promises about what would happen if they are submitted to International Tax and Public Finance ). Instead, these are just a handful of the papers that we saw that, based on their presentation, struck us as important for the field of public finance. And please note—this is a biased sample. Like everyone else, we attended sessions that seemed interesting to us, so what we highlight says as much about our own interests as the field’s. Of course, the sample of papers presented at the conference is also not random and may have depended on people’s desire to travel to Iceland and, when the Congress went virtual, those whose authors were still willing to present the paper.

We thank David Wildasin for reminding us of the cancellation of the 1991 congress due to political turmoil and for his report on the status working ’digitally’ then: “The internet was in its comparative infancy in those days: we had email (still something of a novelty then) but MIME attachments had not yet arrived and Mosaic (first web browser) was not yet available. (When I started using email in the 1980s, I would copy a TeX file in plain text into an email message to send to co-authors who could then run TeX on the text on their computers to see the output; no .pdf attachments!)”.

Kleven ( 2018 ) focuses on NBER working papers over time. In contrast, we focus on the IIPF, which is more internationally diverse. We do not focus on changes over time, but rather a simple snapshot in time.

Ron still remains an editor.

For information on the award, see https://www.iipf.org/itaxaward.html .

It is worth noting that this is a key part of current Brexit problems since goods originating from, say, China that go to the EU pay tariffs once there and then again when entering the UK as they do not contain enough EU value-added to qualify for reduced tariffs.

Indeed, this is what Davies et al. ( 2018 ) find in using transaction level data for French firms.

A paper based on his talk appears in the special issue of this journal, Edenhofer et al. ( 2021 ). In addition to that article, this special issue also features other peer-reviewed papers that were presented at the conference (Acosta-Ormaechea and Morozumi, 2021 ; Herzfeld, 2021 ; Lappi, 2021 ; Mukunoki and Okoshi, 2021 ; Muthitacharoen et al., 2021 ; van der Ploeg, 2021 ) as well as an introduction (Chiroleu-Assouline and Runkel, 2021 ).

See, for example, Kleven et al. ( 2020 ).

See Malkova ( 2018 ) for a paper that studies the other end of the demographic distribution, fertility.

A full statement, reproduced in Appendix  1 , comes from Wildasin ( 2020 ).

Acosta-Ormaechea, S., & Morozumi, A. (2021). The value-added tax and growth: Design matters. International Tax and Public Finance . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-021-09681-2 .

Advani, A., Koenig, F., Pessina, L. & Summers, A. (2020, August). Importing inequality: Top income growth and the globalization of the elite . Working Paper.

Alesina, A. & Stantcheva, S. (2020). Diversity, immigration, and redistribution . NBER Working Paper 26620.

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Bazzoli, M., DiCaro, P., Figari, F., Fiorio, C. & Manzo, M. (2020, August). Size, heterogeneity, and distributional effects of self-employment income tax evasion in Italy . Working Paper.

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Brun Bjørkheim, J. & Nygård, O. (2020, August). Gender differences in tax evasion: Evidence from Norwegian microdata . Working Paper.

Bührle, A. T. (2020, August). Do tax loss provisions distort venture capital funding of start-ups? Working Paper.

Chiroleu-Assouline, M., & Runkel, M. (2021). Introduction to IIPF 2020 special issue in ITAX – Reflections on the interactions between environmental economics and public finance. International Tax and Public Finance . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-021-09697-8 .

Cipullo, D. (2020, August). Gender gaps in political careers: Evidence from competitive elections . Working Paper.

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Davies, R., Martin, J., Parenti, M., & Toubal, F. (2018). Knocking on tax haven’s door: Multinational firms and transfer pricing. Review of Economics and Statistics, 100 (1), 120–134.

Di Gialleonardo, L., Mare, M., Motroni, A., & Porcelli, F. (2020, August). The adequate rate of substitution at retirement and the role of pension funds: Evidence from Italian data . Working Paper.

Edenhofer, O., Franks, M., & Kalkuhl, M. (2021). Pigou in the 21st century: A tribute on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the publication of The Economics of Welfare. Internatinal Tax and Public Finance . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-020-09653-y .

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Engstrøm, P., Hagen, J. & Johansson, E. (2020, August). Estimating tax noncompliance among self-employed with evidence from pleasure boat registers . Working Paper.

Flach, L., Irlacher, M. & Unger, F. (2020, August). Corporate taxes and multi-product exporters: Theory and evidence from trade dynamics . Working paper.

Foremny, D. (2020, February). Information, ethnic diversity, and preferences for redistribution . Working paper.

Gideon, M. (2017). Do individuals perceive income tax rates correctly? Public Finance Review, 45 (1), 97–117.

Guillot, M. (2020, August). Who paid the French 75 % tax on millionaires? Effects on top wage earners and their employers . Working Paper.

Haufler, A., Nishimura, Y. (2020, September). Taxing mobile and overconfident top earners . CESifo Working Paper 8550.

Herzfeld, M. (2021). Designing international tax reform: Lessons from TCJA. International Tax and Public Finance . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-021-09675-0 .

Hines, Jr., J. R. (2020, August). Corporate taxation and the distribution of income . Working Paper.

Kauder, B., Krause, M. & Potrafke, N. (2020, August). Do left-wing governments decrease wage inequality? Empirical evidence based on salaries of civil servants . Working Paper.

Kleven, H., Landais, C., Muñoz, M., & Stantcheva, S. (2020). Taxation and migration: Evidence and policy implications. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 34 (2), 119–142.

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Leenders, W., Lejour, A., Rabate, S. & vant Riet, M. (2020, August). Offshore tax evasion and wealth inequality: Evidence from a tax amnesty in the Netherlands . Working Paper.

Lobel, F., Scot, T., & Zuniga, P. (2020, August). Corporate taxation and evasion responses: Evidence from a minimum tax in Honduras. Working Paper.

Malkova, O. (2018). Can maternity benefits have long-term effects on childbearing? Evidence from Soviet Russia. Review of Economics and Statistics, 100 (4), 691–703.

Malkova, O. (2020a). Delaying retirement and mortality: Evidence from pension reforms . Working Paper.

Malkova, O. (2020b). Did Soviet elderly employment respond to financial incentives? Evidence from pension reforms. Journal of Public Economics, 182 , 104111.

Martin, J., Parenti, M. & Toubal, F. (2020, August). Corporate tax avoidence and industry concentration . Working Paper.

Martinez, I. Z. (2020, August). In it together? Inequality and the joint distribution of income and wealth in Switzerland . Working Paper.

Miethe, J. (2020, August). The elusive banker: Using hurricanes to uncover (non-)activity in offshore financial centers . Working Paper.

Mukunoki, H., & Okoshi, H. (2021). Tariff elimination versus tax avoidance: Free trade agreements and transfer pricing. International Tax and Public Finance . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-021-09689-8 .

Muthitacharoen, A., Wanichthaworn, W., & Burong, T. (2021). VAT threshold and small business behavior: Evidence from Thai tax returns. International Tax and Public Finance . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-021-09672-3 .

Nivala, A., Harju, J., Kotakorpi, K. & Matikka, T. (2020, August). Descriptive evidence from risk based tax audits on firms in Finland . Working Paper.

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Public Finance: The “London” in the World of Economics

This section presents Wildasin ( 2020 )’s version of Samuel Johnson’s quote “Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” Legend has it that Wildasin first rephrased this quote when he was giving an introductory lecture about public finance for an audience of incoming PhD students at Vanderbilt, ca. 1994, attempting to convince them to take public economics over other fields. Since then, one variant or another, has been used by others in the profession. We reproduce it here because it is quite apt for our survey and because it resonates with us.

Wildasin ( 2020 ) paraphrases:

Verse Boswell asked Samuel Johnson about public finance: “Is it interesting?”

Verse Johnson replied, “The happiness of public finance is not to be conceived but by those who have studied it.”

Verse Boswell: “Why, sir, you find nobody at all intellectual who is willing to depart from the study of public finance?”

Verse Johnson: “No, Sir. When you are tired of public finance, you are tired of economics; for there is in public finance all that economics can afford.”

Wildasin ( 2020 ) concludes, “public finance brings us into contact with every subfield of economics: labor, economics of the family, IO, macro/monetary, urban, health, education, finance, history, political economy, international,—you name it!

And into contact with law, accounting, business, political science, sociology ... using every conceivable tool in our collective analytical toolkits!

What a privilege to work in such a rich field!”

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Agrawal, D.R., Davies, R.B., LaLumia, S. et al. A snapshot of public finance research from immediately prior to the pandemic: IIPF 2020. Int Tax Public Finance 28 , 1276–1297 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-021-09693-y

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Publications about Public Finance

Waterfront contribution: a new finance paradigm for cleanup of contaminated sediments.

Larry A. Rosenthal , Philip Spadaro

Working Paper (November 2018)

Contaminated sediments pose significant ecological and health threats in ports and harbors around the world. Yet there is surprisingly little progress towards cleanup in most countries. The U.S. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA or Superfund law) facilitates cleanup projects but they often suffer lengthy delays nonetheless. Participants debate relative responsibility over cost shares. Project finance is often insufficient, in part because resources are diverted by adversarial legalism (Spadaro and Rosenthal 2003, Kagan 2001).

Technologies of sediment remediation (e.g., precision dredging, engineered cap placement, natural attenuation) can now address even the most significant contamination. These innovations allow increasing economies of operation and simplification of remediation design. Applying these technologies in risk-based proportions has produced significant successes, but far too few given the enormity of the challenge worldwide. Without innovations in funding, improved project coordination, and coherent waterfront planning, greater progress will remain difficult to achieve.

We analyze relationships between waterway cleanup of contaminated sediments and waterfront redevelopment. Using examples from North America, we evaluate possible changes in funding paradigms that, if implemented, could accelerate reclamation and remediation. We question the efficacy of the 100-percent-polluter-pays model currently employed in cleanups under the Superfund program and state-equivalent models. Despite its compensatory logic, polluter-pays has difficulty securing polluters’ participation and attributing proportions of contamination to original sources.

Further, historic polluters often lack roots in the present-day community, aiming primarily to minimize their financial exposure. By contrast, longer-term interests in waterways and on the waterfront—e.g. municipal governments, port authorities, and community organizations—can play leadership roles via planning, development regulation, and uplands remediation. Though these entities ought bear no more than their fair share of the costs, they should help coordinate the process whenever possible, given their naturally occurring stakes in cleanup and revitalization.

We propose new roles for cleanup authorities and new structures in project-finance. Tax-increment investment and other approaches can salvage public value and limit windfalls for speculators. Better funding and planning methods enhance local control over these projects and their outcomes. Importantly, new approaches can reduce levels of community displacement, as property values rise when cleanup succeeds.

Without such coordination of waterway-waterfront cleanup and redevelopment in the public interest, significant opportunities are lost. Through enlightened practices, perhaps spurred by positive regulation and negotiated solutions emphasizing local constituencies, greater numbers of effective cleanup projects providing meaningful community benefits become possible.

Keywords: Redevelopment, Municipality, Port Authority, Superfund, Funding

This paper will be presented at the WODCON XXII meetings in Shanghai, China in April of 2019. 

Exuberance and Municipal Bankruptcy: A Case Study of San Bernardino, Stockton and Vallejo, CA

Larry A. Rosenthal , Tracy Gordon, Michael Lens, Paavo Monkkonen

Working Paper (May 2017)

A series of municipal bankruptcies across the United States during and after the financial crisis of 2007-2008 revealed the need for a better understanding of the many factors that shape cities’ fiscal operating environments and solvency conditions. The larger project this study is part of focuses on the role of real estate price changes in the spending and revenues of local governments, examining specifically the issue of irrational exuberance at city hall. We know that property value changes can influence revenue expectations, and ask whether perceptions about future growth conditions may increase propensity to commit to spending revenue that might not materialize. One understudied aspect of this hypothesis is the way in which local governments of various structures process information about local real estate market conditions and revenue expectations. In work completed recently, we analyzed how city councils and fiscal managers learn about real estate market conditions. We found that cities see themselves as budgeting conservatively, and that the housing boom and bust was secondary to declines in sales tax and other revenues during the recession. In this paper, we extend the inquiry to cover the bankruptcies of San Bernardino, Vallejo, and Stockton, CA. We explore these cases relying upon contemporaneous news reports and commentaries, as well as background sources providing municipal history. While exuberance may set the stage for the very extreme policy choice to seek Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, we find that the perceptions of local administrators and lawmakers relative to economic growth and revenue expectations alone were likely not sufficient to predict, or explain, these cases. Instead, a number of political, budgetary, and financial factors must coincide in order to place leaders and managers into the kind of predicaments which place bankruptcy on the table as a rational, if unappetizing, option. 

Financial Research Paper Topics – The Complete List to Choose From

Table of contents

• 1 How to Choose Financial Research Topics?
• 2 List of Finance Topics to Write About
• 3 Interesting Finance Topics
• 4 Research Topics for Finance Students
• 5 Finance Research Topics for MBA
• 6 Public Finance Topics
• 7 International Research Topics in Finance
• 8 Healthcare Finance Research Topics
• 9 Corporate Finance Topics
• 10 Business Finance Topics
• 11 Personal Finance Topics
• 12 Conclusion

A search for the right financial research paper topic is constant. Indeed, we can understand this because knowing the reasonable topics in finance puts us ahead of the game. Students majoring in business are obliged to make presentations and submit essays, projects, and research papers on banking and accounting at one point in their career.

The challenges of picking the best finance topics are, however, always within. For this reason, we’ve done extensive research and have composed a great list of financial research paper topics and divided them into groups for you to choose from.

If you’re in doubt about how to choose your topic, we’ve got that covered too. Read our easy guide on which steps to take to ensure your paper topic is appropriate, along with our vital tips on what to pay attention to when choosing them.

How to Choose Financial Research Topics?

To choose the proper topic and get prepared for the process of research paper writing , you should first explore something that nobody has explored so far. Other than that step of selecting a unique topic, here are some other helpful tips we recommend in selecting the best and most appropriate financial research topic:

• Find a question that has no answers yet in the field of your study and give it additional research to find a suitable solution;
• Read several finance theses and papers to get a good idea for choosing your topic;
• Always find a general viewpoint for your financial research topic and use your study to narrow it down to something specific;
• Do online research and find what topics may be a burning issue to work on them. This type of research will make the research paper topic valid, compelling, suitable for your particular research, and unique;
• Talk about your topic with your friends or other people who have experience in writing papers. You can consult your professors too.

List of Finance Topics to Write About

We offer you a list of exciting finance topics you can write about divided into groups. This way, you can choose the best topic from your target group and make sure you can cover it to a T. Have fun researching.

Interesting Finance Topics

Perhaps you want to write an interesting business paper. You’ll need to choose among some of the most recurring finance paper topics and write a persuasive paper. Here’s our list of the ten options we find most engaging.

• A comparative study on the set-backs and benefits of acquisition and merger
• Possible solutions to the Capital Asset Pricing Model
• Future commerce and the impact of manipulating commodity
• A comparative analysis of the Continuous-time model application
• Building stability for retail investors using the Systematic Investment Strategy
• US’ economy and income tax
• How does the American economy function with the current banking operations
• Financial statement analysis and the ratio analysis – is it a practical component?
• Senior citizen investment – a case study of this portfolio
• Multi-level marketing and its applications in different economies of the world

Research Topics for Finance Students

Finance students have to write research papers throughout their years of study. Sometimes, it may be hard to find the most engaging financial topics to write about, which is why our list should help.

• The differences and similarities between traditional finance and behavioral one
• Consumer satisfaction in e-banking
• The best risk management methods for the manufacturing industry – a detailed analysis
• A derivative marketplace and its financial risks – identification and measuring
• Potential risks for the banking sector and how to avoid them?
• The new technologies behind banking in commercial banks

Finance Research Topics for MBA

The following list of research topics in finance would help you intrigue your professors and look at the discipline from a new perspective.

• Investment analysis of your chosen company
• Capital management – a detailed report
• Saving taxes – considerations and financial plans
• Life insurance investments and the involvement of investors in them
• A comparative analysis between traditional products and UIL

Public Finance Topics

Public finance topics are a type of finance research paper topics that covers taxation, government borrowing, and other aspects.

• Accounting and government budgeting
• The austerity related to finance and government education
• The theory and practice of government taxation
• How does the government raise money through borrowing
• The government’s revenue collection plan
• Budgeting and accounting of the government

International Research Topics in Finance

Since business transactions are happening worldwide, and local trade is no longer the only option, we must study international business.

• What can we do to prevent global economic crises?
• Can the banking industry lower the impact of the recurring financial crisis?
• Can a country achieve funding healthcare for homeless people?
• Which sectors of healthcare need more funding?
• The problems of high prices of medication in the US

Healthcare Finance Research Topics

Here are some of the most relevant topics for healthcare finance:

• What’s better – paid or free healthcare?
• Healthcare finance – the origins
• Is financing healthcare a privilege or a right?
• Healthcare policies in the U.S. through history
• How can first-world countries improve healthcare?
• How much impact does the government have on its healthcare?
• Can we achieve worldwide free healthcare?

Corporate Finance Topics

Corporate finance deals with structuring capital, financing, and making decisions for each investment. The following list of research topics in finance covers ways to make minimal mistakes in this field.

• Possible solutions to ethical concerns in corporate finance
• Small and medium-capitalization businesses – understanding their investment patterns
• Investment for mutual funds – a detailed analysis of its different streams
• How do equity investors manage their potential risks
• What are the potential pros and cons of SWIFT, and how does it work?

Business Finance Topics

Each decision we make in business has some financial implications. Therefore, we must understand the fundamentals to write finance topics that require management, analysis, valuation, etc.

• Establishing business enterprises and the application of business finance
• Business modernization and the role of business finance
• Selling our life insurance – Is tax an effective incentive here?
• Who do mutual funds change within the public and private sectors?
• Different investment options for different financial classes – Is there a preference?
• The choices and preferences of investors – A detailed analysis
• The investors’ perspective on investing in private insurance companies
• Corporate entities and increasing their accountability
• Business finance and its ethical concerns
• Small to medium business tax payments

Personal Finance Topics

Personal finance is a susceptible area, as we all like to tend to our finances appropriately. Here are some of the most exciting burning issues in this field:

• Possible saving strategies while you’re on a budget – An evaluation
• The effect of inflation and the increase in the interest rate on personal finance
• Employees and employers working from home – what are the benefits?
• Is free healthcare or affordable healthcare a common right every citizen should have?
• What are the best ways to save money when you’re on a budget?
• Credit scored – a detailed analysis
• The importance of vehicle and credit loans
• How does tax impact making our financial decisions?
• What are the best ways to properly manage credit?
• Mobile banking and its difficulties

Yes, choosing among numerous financial research paper topics can sometimes be overwhelming. Still, we’ve laid out all the inspirational ideas for them in categories so that you can find your best pick fast and easily. If you feel like you can’t write that paper yourself, that’s okay too.

Contact our services at PapersOwl for some first-class research writing. On the other hand, if you feel like you are a professional in this field, we have you covered for that too. You can write research papers for money through our service and make extra cash from your writing skills.

If you have any additional questions about finance research topics, please contact our college paper help . Our team of experts will tend to all of your questions promptly.

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Financial Research Paper Topics: Interesting Finance Questions to Uncover

Are you having trouble thinking of a good topic for your finance research paper? Believe it or not, you are not alone. It might be difficult to find the perfect financial research topic time and time again. After all, picking the right subject is crucial to your financial field. Whether you’re putting together a presentation, penning an essay, or doing research papers, your choice of subject is of critical significance.

To aid you in overcoming this obstacle, we have compiled a detailed list of organized finance topics for research papers. If you want to be sure you choose the right subject for your financial management efforts, we’ve provided a concise guide with crucial advice.

How to Choose Topics for a Finance Research Paper?

If you need assistance deciding on a subject for your finance research paper, here are some pointers. But before we get into those pointers, it’s important to keep in mind that custom writing services may be a great resource for choosing finance topics for your research paper. You may save yourself time and effort by relying on their staff of seasoned writers to help you choose a subject that is both interesting and applicable to your assignment. The following are three guidelines for deciding on a subject for a finance research paper:

• Find Unanswered Questions : Try to pinpoint issues that haven’t received enough attention so far in financial research. You may add to the corpus of knowledge already available by identifying information gaps. Investigate financial management, traditional finance, corporate finance, personal finance and similar topics in order to develop a workable solution or to provide novel ideas.
• Review Existing Literature : Gaining familiarity with the state of the art in finance research requires reading theses and academic articles. Doing so will aid you in pinpointing certain niches in which you may excel. Search the literature for broad perspectives or recurring themes that might help you zero in on a particular issue.
• Stay Updated and Seek Input : Conduct internet research to keep up with the latest financial concerns. Investigate pressing concerns in the industry, such as the effects of the global financial crisis or new developments in the financial markets. You should also talk about your topic with others who have written research papers, such as your friends, classmates, or professors. Getting their thoughts might help you hone your subject and provide vital information.

Where to Get Data for Finance Papers?

It is crucial to get accurate and up-to-date information while conducting studies in the financial sector. One efficient method is to pay for papers or to hire a finance researcher and analysts to do the work for you, especially when it comes to personal finance.

• ProQuest is a significant tool since it provides access to scholarly literature from every field of study in the form of periodicals, newspapers, industry reports, dissertations, and profiles of prominent businesses.
• Scopus and Web of Science provide a plethora of resources, including journals, books, and conference proceedings, that provide comprehensive coverage across academic subjects.
• Global Financial Data (GFD) is one such database that caters only to finance research, and its extensive research has a wealth of data on various asset classes, prices, indexes, and currency exchange rates.
• Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters Datastream, and WRDS provide faculty and researchers with institutional access to a plethora of financial data and tools. This includes real-time market data, financial statements, economic indicators, and personal finance topics to write about.

List of Finance Research Topics

This exhaustive list covers everything you need, whether you’re an MBA student, a finance management professional, or a college student. Explore the exciting field of finance research, delving into areas like healthcare financing, the latest developments in the field, corporate finance, and the aftereffects of the global financial crisis. The finance research papers” in this volume will keep you interested and well-informed.

Finance Research Topics for MBA

Investment analysis, financial management, and personal finance are just a few of the many disciplines that fall under the umbrella of finance research subjects for MBA students. Such topics in finance are essential because they provide MBA students with a solid grounding in financial theory and practice. Here are a few suggestions for MBA students looking for research topics in finance:

• Risk Management Strategies in Financial Institutions.
• Behavioral Finance in Investment Decision-Making.
• Financial Inclusion and Economic Development.
• Comparative Analysis of IFRS Adoption and Financial Reporting Quality.
• Impact of Financial Technology (Fintech) on Traditional Banking.

Finance Management Research Topics

Finance management topics include a broad spectrum of areas that dive into the complexities of managing financial resources in different contexts. Investment analysis, risk management, financial markets, and corporate finance all fall under finance management. Writing a finance research paper helps you understand financial decision-making, develop effective strategies, and advance the field. Before commencing your research paper, consider the following finance research paper ideas:

• Corporate Risk Management Strategies On Firm Performance.
• Benefit Investment Management Practices In Pension Funds.
• Assessing Financial Risks And Mitigation Techniques In Developing Market Multinationals.
• Electronic Banking And Financial Inclusion In Developed And Developing Nations.
• An Empirical Study Of Investor Behavior And Global Finance Data.

Healthcare Finance Research Topics

Explore the application of financial theory to the healthcare sector while writing about finance research paper topics. This financial research is essential for expanding our knowledge of healthcare economics, investment strategies, cost control, and healthcare policy. Finance researchers may also investigate intricate monetary systems to enhance healthcare services and the health of patients. Some healthcare finance topics might include the following:

• Impact Of Healthcare Policy On Financial Sustainability.
• Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Of Healthcare Interventions.
• Healthcare Reimbursement Models And Their Impact On Healthcare Providers.
• Economic Evaluation Of Preventive Healthcare Programs.
• Healthcare Financing And Access To Care For Underserved Populations.

Interesting Finance Dissertation Topics

For the purposes of writing finance research papers and finishing a dissertation, investigating interesting finance topics is essential. You can gain a more thorough comprehension of economic principles and their real-world applications. In order to have a high-quality research paper done quickly and with no effort, it’s a good idea to look into help with dissertation writing services. For your next research paper, you can consider the following interesting financial topics:

• The banking sector and digital transformation: customer experience and operational effectiveness.
• Corporate risk management strategies in the banking industry: Traditional vs. developing risk management procedures.
• A case study of emerging nations and how well-functioning financial systems foster economic progress.
• Financial aid programs in promoting access to higher education
• A post-pandemic examination of banking institutions’ resilience and regulatory measures’ systemic risk mitigation.

Current Research Topics in Finance

Examining current finance research paper topics is essential due to the dynamic nature of the financial industry. By digging into current financial topics to write about, you learn more about the market, investing methods, risk management, and more. This financial research supports decision-making, policy-making, and the development of new financial solutions. Here are a few lists of subjects to consider if you are looking for current financial topics to write about.

• Financial Statement Analysis And Investment Decisions In Different Industries.
• Exploring The Effectiveness Of Machine Learning Algorithms In Predicting Financial Asset Prices.
• The Role Of Financial Derivatives In Managing Risk And Enhancing Returns In The Business Sector.
• Corporate Governance Practices On Financial Performance And Asset Valuation.
• Sustainable Finance Projects In Promoting Environmental, Social, And Governance (ESG) Goals.

Best Finance Research Topics

A finance research paper topic requires the identification of intriguing subjects for extensive research. The best financial research opens the door to explorations of many facets of finance, including investing tactics and the stock market. As you start to write research papers on finance topics, you’ll open up opportunities for self-discovery, theory-building, and prudent decision-making. You’ll also help them become better researchers and writers, leading to better articles.

• Artificial Intelligence and Financial Decision-Making.
• Financial Risk Management in the Age of Cryptocurrencies.
• Behavioral Finance and Investment Decision-Making.
• The Effectiveness of Financial Regulations in Preventing Market Manipulation.
• The Role of Fintech in Financial Inclusion: Case Studies from the United States.

Interesting Finance Topics for College Students

Among the many subsets that make up the umbrella term finance topics for college students are financial research and finance topics for paper. Financial research topics are important because they help students learn the fundamentals of finance, get them ready for the issues they’ll face in the real world, and develop the analytical thinking they’ll need to make sound judgments in the future. Here are a few examples of finance topics to talk about among college students:

• A Comparative Study of E-commerce on Traditional Retail Banking.
• Comparing Interest Rate Changes with Stock Market Volatility in Developed and Emerging Markets.
• The Effectiveness of Microfinance Institutions in Alleviating Poverty.
• Financial Education Programs and College Students’ Financial Decision-Making.
• Initial Public Offering (IPO) Underpricing: Comparative Study of Developed and Developing Markets.

Finance Research Paper Topics for University Students

Investing, banking, corporate finance, and other areas fall under the umbrella of finance-related topics for the purposes of a university research paper. Because it deepens their knowledge, sparks new ideas, and helps the financial sector expand, topics in finance are more important for college students to study. Students who buy custom assignments benefit from individualized attention, time savings, and the insight of subject matter experts. Check out our extensive finance research topic list to uncover interesting topics for your next paper.

• Interest Rate Changes On Corporate Borrowing And Investment Decisions.
• Financial Literacy And Investment Behavior Among University Students.
• Impact Of International Trade And Globalization On Financial Markets.
• Factors Influencing Mergers And Acquisitions In The Financial Industry.
• Financial Derivatives In Managing Risk In The Stock Market.

Public Finance Research Topics

Research Topics in Public Finance include a broad spectrum of questions concerning fiscal and monetary policy at the national, state, and local levels of government. Understanding the effects of government spending and fiscal policies on GDP growth, income distribution, and social welfare is essential, which is why studies in this field are so important. Policymakers can do better for the world when they have access to information on financial research paper topics to read about.

• The potential of digital currencies as financial assets in public finance management.
• Impact of Tax Policy on Economic Growth: A Comparative Study.
• Government Debt and its Implications on Fiscal Sustainability.
• Public-Private Partnerships in Infrastructure Development.
• Effectiveness of Fiscal Stimulus Packages in Times of Economic Crisis.

Corporate Finance Research Topics

Corporate Finance Research explores various financial management topics within businesses. Conducting research in this area is crucial for understanding financial decision-making, risk management, capital structure, and valuation. It helps companies optimize their financial strategies, make informed investment decisions, and enhance overall financial performance.

• Corporate Governance and Financial Performance: An Industry Comparison.
• Debt Financing in Manufacturing Sector Corporate Investment Decisions.
• Corporate Taxation and Capital Structure Decisions: A Comparative Study of Countries.
• Corporate Venture Capital and Startup Financing: A Comparative Analysis.
• Corporate Governance Mechanisms and Capital Allocation Efficiency: Emerging Markets.

Business Finance Research Topics

Subjects that fall under the umbrella of business finance topics include any and all discussions of how businesses handle their money, from budgeting to investing to making important business decisions. Researching business finance is essential since it reveals new tendencies, aids in the creation of cutting-edge tactics, and boosts monetary output. It helps companies maintain competitiveness in a fast-paced industry and make well-informed choices. These samples can assist you whether you are looking for financial research paper topics or investment research paper ideas.

• Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance.
• Exchange Rate Fluctuations on International Business Transactions.
• Financial Innovation and SME Financing.
• Financial Markets in Economic Development.
• Financial Leverage and Firm Value in Different Industries.

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About the Journal

Public Finance Journal  is a biannual journal publishing peer-reviewed research that examines and analyzes contemporary issues in budgeting and finance and explores the applicability of solution sets. The journal is published by the Government Finance Officers Association and is a forum for discussion on significant issues related to the advancement of our scientific understanding.

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Savings lost, current issue.

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2024)

Front Matter

Table of contents, bridging the divide, research articles, establishing an agenda for public budgeting and finance research, modeling approach matters, but not as much as preprocessing, ai as a budgeting tool: panacea or pandora’s box, adoption of property tax expenditure and limitations by u.s. states, book reviews, the municipal financial crisis, municipal fiscal stress, bankruptcies, and other financial emergencies, financial strategy for public managers, back matter.

Page iii-iv

Welcome to Public Finance Journal !

The Public Finance Journal serves as a forum for discussion on significant issues related to the advancement of our scientific understanding. Articles are chosen for publication based on the originality, importance, interdisciplinary interest, timeliness, and accessibility. As a journal focused on connecting the science with the practice in public budgeting and finance, all manuscripts must connect the study with the needs and interests of both the scientific and practitioner communities for the field.

The mission of  PF is to serve those engaged in public budgeting and finance through the publication of significant advances in the science of the discipline that conveys both theoretical importance and timely application.

Guiding Principles of  Public Finance Journal:

• Public Finance  is an open access journal that is committed to the community of practice.
• All articles published adhere to the standards of peer review and the ethical standards of the Committee on Publication Ethics.
• We encourage the posting of open data and methods for all articles published.
• Both replications and manuscripts with null results are important to the scientific process.

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250+ Finance Research Paper Topics & Ideas for Your Project

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Have you ever found yourself angling for the perfect finance topic, only to be caught in the net of confusion? Well, reel in your worries, because this blog is your golden fish! We've curated 250 distinct finance research topics tailored to any taste. 

Need a nudge in the right direction? Or maybe you're after a whole new financial perspective? Whatever it is, our research paper writing service has got you covered. Dive into this assortment of finance research paper topics and choose an idea that speaks to you.

What Are Finance Research Topics?

finance is all about how money works – how it's made, how it's managed, and how it's spent. It essentially oversees the process of allocating resources and assets over time. This domain is fundamental for the smooth functioning of economies, businesses, and personal lives.

With this in mind, financial research topics are the subjects that explore how finances are managed. These subjects can range from anything from figuring out how Bitcoin affects the stock market to examining how a country's economy recovers after a recession.

Features of Good Finance Research Paper Topics

Now that you understand what a finance domain is all about, let’s discuss what makes finance research paper topics worthwhile. Before you pick any topic, make sure it fills the boxes of these requirements:

• Contemporary relevance Your topic should be connected to current issues or trends in finance.
• Focused scope Your topic should be specific enough to allow a deep analysis. For example, rather than exploring "Global finance," you might examine "The impact of cryptocurrency on global finance."
• Data accessibility Ensure you can find enough information about your topic to base your research on.
• Fresh perspective There are many aspects that have already been covered by other scholars. Make sure your topic offers fresh insights or explores a matter from a new angle.
• Personal engagement If you're excited about your study, that's a good sign you've picked a winning topic.

How to Choose a Finance Research Paper Topic?

Choosing a finance research topic idea is like going on a treasure hunt. But don’t be afraid. Our online essay writer team has  shared guidelines to help you find that 'X' marks the spot!

• Explore possible directions Read articles, watch videos, listen to podcasts. As you search for topics, jot down interesting ideas that capture your attention.
• Prioritize your interests Reflect on what really interests you. You might be fascinated by investment strategies or passionate about sustainable finance.
• Uncover the gaps Look for questions that are yet unanswered or try to recognize unique angles.
• Check for information Now, you need to ensure you have enough equipment and credible sources to work with.
• Take a leap Once you've done all your groundwork, go ahead and pick a theme that resonates with your goals.

Now that you have a clue how to spot decent finance research topic ideas, let’s move one to the actual list of suggestions.

Finance Research Topics List

Get ready to navigate through our collection of finance research paper topic ideas! We've mapped out these suggestions to explore. Each of these topics can be further divided into subtopics for a more in-depth analysis.

• Cryptocurrency's impact on traditional banking.
• Sustainable investment practices and implications.
• Unveiling the role of artificial intelligence in market predictions.
• Microloans and their role in alleviating poverty.
• Behavioral finance: Understanding investor psychology.
• Making a case for teaching money management in schools.
• The rise of fintech startups: Disruption or evolution?
• Entering the era of digital wallets: What's next?
• Exploring the balance between profit and social responsibility in impact investing.
• Success of crowdfunding campaigns.
• Securing our online vaults: The importance of cybersecurity in banking.
• Strategies for recovery after an economic downturn.
• Central banks and their contribution to economic stability.
• Blockchain technology: A new era of transaction processing.
• Robo-advisors in investment management.

Interesting Finance Research Topics

Fasten your seatbelts, scholars! We're about to take off on another round of academic adventure with interesting finance topics. With these ideas at hand, you are sure to find a captivating topic for your financial project.

• How does pandemic affect the global economy?
• Cryptocurrency: A bubble or new standard?
• Influence of artificial intelligence on credit scoring systems.
• Evolution and significance of green bonds.
• Correlation between investor psychology and stock market volatility.
• Impact of educational initiatives on personal money management.
• Fintech startups and traditional banking: Rivals or collaborators?
• Mobile wallets: Balancing convenience and security.
• Is social responsibility becoming a decisive factor in investment choices?
• Success factors in crowdfunding campaigns.
• Prioritizing cybersecurity in the age of digital transactions.
• Strategic approaches to post-recession recovery.
• What role do central banks play in navigating economic turbulence?
• Applications of blockchain beyond cryptocurrency.
• Automated advisors and their impact on investment management.

Easy Finance Research Topics

Finance can be a tough nut to crack. But worry not, we've sifted through the complexities to bring you easy finance research papers topics. They'll help you find the right direction without overwhelming you. Are you ready to take the plunge?

• Understanding credit scores: What makes them rise and fall?
• Basics of personal budgeting.
• An overview of stock market investing.
• The rise and implications of mobile banking.
• Microloans and their impact on small businesses.
• Cryptocurrency: Hype or a game-changer?
• Retirement planning: A critical component of personal finance.
• What are financial regulations?
• A closer look at online payment systems.
• How does crowdfunding work?
• Ethics in finance.
• Emergency fund creation: Its significance in financial planning.
• Tax planning: Exploring strategies and impacts on personal wealth.
• Exploring e-commerce business models.
• Insurance policies and their role in financial risk management.

Great Finance Research Paper Topics

The finance world is a goldmine of great research avenues waiting to be explored. Below we've collected fantastic research topics in finance to inspire your work. Now, all you need to do is take your pick and start investigating.

• Exploring mergers and acquisitions in global corporations.
• Is venture capital a catalyst for startup success?
• Public fiscal policy across nations.
• Insider trading: Unethical advantage or strategic insight?
• Unpacking the intricacies of derivatives and risk management.
• How digital transformation is reshaping banking services.
• Harnessing mathematics for modeling in quantitative disciplines.
• Investigating corporate social responsibility in multinational institutions.
• Unraveling the role of AI in fraud prevention.
• Are microcredit initiatives a key to broader financial inclusion?
• Psychology that drives economic decisions.
• How do credit rating agencies influence market dynamics?
• Ripple effects of inflation on investment portfolios.
• What role does forensic accounting play in unveiling fraud?
• Balance between debt and equity in capital structuring.

Popular Finance Research Topics

Are you wondering what's trending in the world of finance? Consider these popular financial topics to write about and choose one for your project. Don't forget to check if your professor has additional guidelines before you get started! If you have unique requirements and want to obtain a top-quality work tailored to your needs, consider  buying research papers from our experts.

• Machine learning in credit risk modeling: A new frontier?
• Can businesses strike a balance between sustainability and profit?
• Peer-to-peer lending: Revolutionizing or destabilizing finance?
• Microfinancing in developing nations: An analysis of success factors.
• The growth of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing.
• Global economic impact of sovereign debt crises.
• How are trends in corporate governance shaping businesses?
• Impact of globalization on investment strategies.
• Examining the rise and implications of neobanks.
• Fiscal policy responses to climate change: A global overview.
• Role of behavioral biases in investment decision-making.
• Economic fallout of pandemics: A case study of COVID-19
• Evaluating the ethics of high-frequency trading.
• Internet of Things (IoT) and its implications for financial services.
• Impact of FinTech innovations on traditional banking.

Current Research Topics in Finance

Keeping pace with the latest trends is crucial in research, and finance is no exception. We've therefore rounded up current finance topics for a research paper, designed to resonate with the here and now.

• Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs): A new era in finance?
• Sustainable finance: Navigating the path to greener economies.
• Tech giants entering financial services: Disruption or evolution?
• Exploring the implications of Brexit on global trade and finance.
• Regulation of fintech in the era of digital currencies.
• Influence of geopolitical conflicts on global fiscal markets.
• Influence of political stability on stock market performance.
• Data privacy in financial market.
• Implications of quantum computing for financial cryptography.
• Ethical implications of AI in finance.
• Effects of trade wars on currency markets.
• COVID-19 and the shift towards a cashless society.
• Evaluating the stability of cryptocurrency markets.
• Impact of remote work trends on global economies.
• Leveraging big data for predictive analysis in finance.

>> Read more: Economics Research Paper Topics

Best Finance Research Topics

When it comes to research, not all topics are created equal. To bring out your best, we've curated a selection of the finest finance research topic list. These topics offer a blend of depth, relevance, and originality.

• Financial implications of demographic shifts in developed economies.
• Challenges of regulating emerging financial technologies.
• Big data and its transformative role in credit risk management.
• Comparative analysis of traditional banks and digital-only banks.
• The rise of ethical investing: Fad or future of finance?
• Financial resilience in the face of global crises.
• Space economy: Financial prospects and challenges.
• Financing strategies for small to medium enterprises in emerging markets.
• Impact of policy changes on financial planning strategies.
• Rise of smart contracts.
• Global economic impacts of aging populations.
• Assessing the financial viability of renewable energy projects.
• Influence of machine learning on investment portfolio management.
• The future of cash: An outdated concept or an enduring necessity?
• Financial implications of autonomous vehicles.

Unique Financial Research Topics

Originality is the currency of academic research, and in finance, it's no different. To help you make your mark, we've compiled a list of truly unique finance paper topics. These topics were selected for their potential to bring fresh perspectives.

• Finance in promoting circular economies.
• Emerging finance strategies for carbon capture and storage.
• Leveraging data analytics to predict market crashes.
• Role of financial regulation in preventing tech monopolies.
• Financing deep-sea exploration: Opportunities and challenges.
• How are finance and agri-tech interrelated?
• The cost of data breaches.
• How do artificial intelligence laws affect fintech?
• Exploring financial strategies for preserving biodiversity.
• Fiscal strategies for promoting urban farming.
• What role does financial policy play in addressing income inequality?
• Financial modeling in the age of quantum computing.
• Use of predictive analytics in insurance underwriting.
• Role of finance in achieving zero-waste economies.
• Financial dynamics of eSports.

Finance Research Topic Ideas for Presentation

Creating a lasting presentation can be a challenge, but it doesn’t have to be. We’ve gathered some of the most interesting financial topics that you can use for your next classroom or workplace presentation.

• Tales of Wall Street: Lessons from the biggest fiscal scandals.
• Economic meltdowns: Causes and lessons learned.
• Gender disparity in wealth accumulation..
• Sustainability and finance: The role of green investments.
• Economic indicators: Predicting financial trends.
• Power of budgeting: Key to financial success.
• Venture capital's role in fostering innovation.
• Microfinance's impact on poverty reduction.
• Forensic accounting.
• Wealth disparity: Analyzing the growing economic divide.
• Inflation and interest: A balancing act.
• Pension crisis in different countries.
• Understanding financial derivatives: Beyond the basics.
• Implications of tax evasion: A global perspective.
• Impact of electronic payment systems on consumer behavior.

Finance Research Paper Topic Ideas for Students

Below we've handpicked a compilation of the best finance research paper topics perfect for budding scholars. To tailor to your academic level, we've meticulously sorted these themes, ensuring they resonate with your knowledge and challenge your critical thinking skills. Whether you're an undergraduate or a postgraduate seeking finance topics to write about, we've got you covered.

Finance Research Topics for College Students

College students majoring in finance should demonstrate solid critical analysis and problem-solving skills. Unlike high school, college provides a platform to delve deeper into complex issues and challenge existing theories. Finance projects for students in college should push beyond surface-level knowledge. With these requirements in mind, we've assembled a set of finance related research paper topics tailored to college students.

• Algorithmic trading: A boon or a bane?
• Financial literacy and student loan debt: Is there a connection?
• Does social media influence stock market trends?
• Effect of corporate scandals on stock prices.
• Role of financial planning in achieving life goals.
• Micro-financing in developing economies.
• Sustainable investing: A look into its effectiveness.
• Role of finance in promoting social entrepreneurship.
• Impact of fiscal policy changes on small businesses.
• Exploring the world of impact investing.
• Personal finance: Comparing self-taught vs. formally educated approaches.
• A comparative study of banking systems across the globe.
• Financial planning: Analysis of gender-specific approaches.
• Impact of economic sanctions on financial markets.
• The dynamics of stock market bubbles.

Finance Research Paper Topics for University Students

University students should exhibit a higher degree of critical thinking and research, as compared to college students. Projects conducted at university level should be ambitious and focused on making an impact in the field of finance. To support your endeavors, we've provided a list of financial research topics for university students.

• Financial management in non-profit organizations.
• How do cultural factors influence investment decisions?
• What significance does microfinancing have in women's empowerment?
• Financial aftermath of natural disasters.
• How do exchange rates affect the tourism industry?
• Financial implications of deepfake technology.
• Challenges and opportunities of financial decentralization.
• Dissecting the financial fallout of global pandemics.
• Strategies in the age of the sharing economy.
• A comparative analysis of Eastern and Western investment philosophies.
• Investigating the correlation between economic freedom and prosperity.
• Role of finance in curbing wildlife trafficking.
• Finance strategies to combat global water scarcity.
• Economic resilience: Lessons from small island nations.
• Analyzing fiscal challenges in the healthcare industry.

Finance Research Paper Topics for MBA

MBA students must showcase a deep understanding of finance principles and an aptitude for critical thinking. To ensure you stay ahead in the game, we've compiled a list of MBA finance topics for a paper to research.

• Role of finance in the transition to clean energy.
• Impact of intergenerational wealth transfer on the global economy.
• Fiscal planning in global corporations.
• Leadership and its impact on financial decision-making.
• Role of finance in driving corporate digital transformation.
• Venture capital investment strategies in emerging markets.
• Implications of corporate restructuring.
• Financial strategies for fostering corporate diversity and inclusion.
• The future of finance in a post-fossil fuel world.
• Risk management strategies in the era of FinTech disruption.
• Developing fiscal strategies for business resilience post-pandemic.
• How does extended reality (XR) impact the business world?
• Effective pension fund management.
• The use of blockchain technology in tracking funds and resources.
• How do venture capitalists assess start-up risks?

Finance Research Topics by Subject

Finance is a vast field with many branches under its umbrella. To make it easier to browse through these research topic ideas for finance, we've organized them according to subject matter. Take a look at the following themes and find a fitting idea!

International Finance Research Paper Topics

The monetary landscape is constantly expanding. To keep up with these changes, many universities are now offering majors in international finance. For those interested in exploring the field on a global scale, here are some relevant international finance research topics.

• Macroeconomic policies across different countries.
• What role does foreign direct investment play in global economies?
• Implications of capital flows on exchange rates.
• Impact of international monetary systems on global financial stability.
• Challenges and opportunities in cross-border investments.
• Trade deficits and their effect on financial markets.
• What is the role of financial institutions in global development?
• Effects of currency manipulation.
• Political and economic risks of investing abroad.
• What impact do tariffs have on international finance?
• Exploring the potential of Islamic Banking as an alternative system.
• International taxation systems.
• Financial education in promoting economic growth in developing countries.
• Trade agreements in facilitating economic integration.
• Foreign exchange risk management strategies.

Public Finance Research Topics

Public finance is a field of study that explores the use and redistribution of resources in the public sector. Below we prepared public finance topics to talk about.

• Public-private partnership in infrastructure development.
• Taxation policies for financial inclusion and reduced income inequality.
• Public debt and economic growth: Evidence from developing countries.
• Successful municipal bond issuance.
• Public finance reforms: Enhancing transparency and accountability.
• Public expenditure efficiency in achieving economic development goals.
• Government spending in education and long-term economic growth.
• Corruption's impact on public finance management.
• Fiscal austerity measures.
• Key factors influencing sovereign credit ratings.
• Budget deficits in developed countries.
• Comparing public and private pension systems.
• Alternative revenue sources for governments.
• The impact of international aid on developing countries.
• Charity tax incentives and their effect on donations.

Corporate Finance Research Topics

Corporate finance is an important area of study that covers a variety of topics related to corporate investments, financial management, and stock market analysis. If you are unsure where to begin, look through these research topics in corporate finance.

• Ethical investing's impact on company monetary strategies.
• Fiscal management in achieving gender pay equality in firms.
• Assessing 'greenwashing' in corporations from a monetary perspective.
• Tax policy implications on business fiscal decisions.
• Optimizing financial resources in multidivisional organizations.
• Investment in cybersecurity: An essential aspect of business economics.
• Transparency in corporate fiscal activities in the digital age.
• Economic recessions and counteracting business monetary strategies.
• How automation and AI transform company monetary management?
• Corporate social responsibility's influence on fiscal strategies.
• Short-term versus long-term financial planning in businesses.
• Effects of international trade agreements on company monetary policies.
• Mitigating supply chain risks through smart fiscal management.
• Implications of corporate rebranding.
• Inflation's effects on budgeting and forecasting in corporations.

Business Finance Research Topics

Business finance is a field of study that examines the allocation of capital within an organization. This subject involves understanding all aspects of financial management, from budgeting to risk assessment. Here are some business finance research topics you can explore.

• Assessing financial health of startups: Metrics that matter.
• Role of venture capitalists in boosting business growth.
• Challenges of monetary management in family-owned businesses.
• How effective is crowdfunding for startup financing?
• Strategies for risk mitigation in retail business.
• Artificial intelligence in business budgeting and forecasting.
• Credit management in small to medium enterprises (SMEs).
• Profitability analysis in manufacturing businesses.
• Fiscal planning in business expansion.
• Effects of global economic changes on business budget management.
• Influence of e-commerce on financial strategies of retail businesses.
• Corporate governance: A comparative analysis.
• Private equity investment strategies.
• Shareholder activism in today’s markets.
• Portfolio management strategies for institutional investors.

>> Read more: Business Research Paper Topics

Personal Finance Research Topics

Personal finance focuses on understanding and managing your money to achieve financial security. Research in this area covers a wide array of aspects, from budgeting and saving to investment decisions and retirement planning. Here are some ideas for personal finance research topics:

• Psychology of spending: Are we programmed to save or spend?
• Retirement planning: How early is too early?
• Impact of financial education on money management habits.
• Role of technology in individual budgeting and saving.
• Is debt an inevitable part of our life?
• Investing for the future: Stocks vs real estate.
• Healthcare costs and their impact on individual economic stability.
• Millennials and money.
• How does inflation impact our day-to-day budgeting?
• Role of emergency funds in financial security.
• Economic recessions on retirement planning.
• Estate planning and wealth transfer.
• Credit scores: Their significance in personal economic health.
• Role of government policies in shaping individual investment strategies.
• Balancing personal spending and saving.

Healthcare Finance Research Paper Topics

Healthcare finance is a specialized field of study that focuses on the financial management of healthcare organizations. It requires an understanding of both financial and healthcare-specific topics, such as reimbursement policies, budgeting and forecasting models, and population health management. Here are some research paper topics related to healthcare finance.

• Budgeting challenges in public health institutions.
• Role of telehealth in reducing healthcare costs.
• Financing strategies for rare diseases treatments.
• Impact of the aging population on healthcare expenditures.
• Population health management and its monetary burdens.
• Impact of COVID-19 on the financial stability of healthcare systems.
• Value-based care: Monetary rewards or challenges?
• Analyzing the costs of electronic health records implementation.
• Cost-effectiveness of preventive care: An exploration.
• Reimbursement policies and their effect on medical practices.
• Influence of pharmaceutical pricing on healthcare costs.
• Out-of-pocket costs: Barrier to healthcare access?
• Role of financial management in healthcare mergers and acquisitions.
• Medical bankruptcy: An unspoken reality?
• Forecasting models for healthcare expenditures: A comparative study.

>> View more: Health Research Topics

Bottom Line on Finance Research Papers Topics

Hopefully, this list of finance research paper topics has given you some great ideas for your next project. Remember, the best way to make sure you write a good finance paper is to start with an interesting and informative topic. If you need any help with the writing process, don’t hesitate to contact our college paper writers .

Let our skilled team take care of your project! We guarantee high-quality papers delivered right on time, giving you peace of mind and extra time to focus on your other responsibilities. Say ‘ write my term pape r’ and have your project handled by an expert.

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200 Finance Dissertation Topics: Quick Ideas For Students

Finance dissertation topics are on-demand in the 21st century. But why is this so? It may perplex you how everyone is up and down looking for interesting, quality finance topics. However, the answer is simple: because fascinating finance dissertation topics can earn students bonus points.

We will delve into that in just a second. Your finance topic dictates the difficulty of the assignment you are going to handle. Landing on the right topic means that you will not have to toil as much as when you pick a highly complex topic. Does it make sense?

Let’s explore the nitty-gritty of finance dissertation papers before we get into mentioning the top-rated finance research topics list.

What Is A Finance Dissertation?

As the name goes, finance dissertation is a kind of writing that investigates a particular finance topic selected by the student. The topics range from the stock market, banking, and risk management to healthcare finance topics.

This dissertation provides the student with a degree of academic self-confidence and personal satisfaction in the finance field. Finance writing requires extensive research to create a persuasive paper in the end.

Writing Tips For Finance Dissertations

Are you uncertain concerning what you need to do to compose a top-notch finance dissertation? Worry no more! Our professional writers have put together some essential suggestions to kick you off. In the next few minutes, you will be in a position to create a perfect finance dissertation painstakingly:

• Narrow down your topic : Trim down your finance topic to a specific niche. It should focus on one region; either micro-finance, macro-finance, or internet banking.
• Verify your facts : Finance is a field that includes a lot of statistical data to be followed logically. Therefore, verify facts and figures with reliable sources before opting to use them in your paper.
• Write concisely : Unlike other papers with long narrative tales, you should encapsulate a finance paper into a tight, concise paper. The rule of ‘short is sweet’ technically applies here at great length.
• Arrange your data neatly : A paper that is stuffed with numerals and charts all over may turn down a reader at first sight. For an impressive finance thesis, know-how and when to use your data.
• Write simply : Avoid jargon that may confuse an ordinary reader. Where a need is for technical terms to be used, illustrate them with relatable examples. Simplicity is gold in a finance dissertation. So, use it well.

With these tips and tricks, you are all set to start writing your finance paper. We now advance to another crucial part that will make sure your finance paper is refined and at per with your institution’s academic standards.

General Structure of a Finance Dissertation

It is crucial to consult your supervisor regarding your dissertation’s research methodology, structure, style, and reasonable length. Depending on the guidance of your supervisor, the structure may vary. Nonetheless, as a general guide, ensure the following sections are part and parcel of your dissertation:

• Introduction: State the problem that you intend to address in your dissertation. It also includes a definition of key terms, the relevance of the topic and a summary of hypotheses.
• Theoretical and empirical literature, hypotheses development and contribution: It provides the theoretical framework of your study. The hypotheses are based on the literature review.
• Data and methodology: State the model (i.e. dependent and key independent variables) that you want to use the drawing on theoretical framework or economic argument that you may employ for your analysis. Define all control variables and describe the data used to test the hypothesis.
• Empirical results: Describe the results and mention whether they are consistent with the hypotheses and relate them with the existing evidence in the literature. You will also describe the statistical and practical/economic significance of your findings.
• Summary and conclusion: Summarize your research and state the general conclusion with relevant implications.

It is important to have all the dataset you want to use readily available before finalizing the topic. The dataset is essential for testing your hypotheses.

There are thousands of research topics for finance students available all over the internet and academic books. You only have to browse and lookup for the latest research or refer to past readings or course lectures.

Even though this exercise may look simple enough on the surface, it takes a lot of time to consider what makes for interesting finance topics adequately. Not all ideas you find will achieve the academic requirements that your supervisor expects from you.

Here is a list of freshly mint topics to use for numerous finance situations:

Impressive Healthcare Finance Topics

Healthcare involves more than just treating patients and administering injections. There are finance aspects that also come into play, including:

• Strategies for marketplace achievement in turbulent times: Medical staff marketing
• Effects of the employer executive compensation and benefits plan after the Tax Reform Act of 1986
• Improving profitability through accelerating philanthropic giving to healthcare systems
• Acceleration and effective information strategies for cash management in hospitals
• Finding the system’s solution to health care cost accounting
• How hospitals spend money from charitable organizations and donor funding
• Models of enhancing cost accounting efforts by improving existing information sources
• Strategies of increasing cash flow with a patient accounting review
• A systematic review of productivity, cost accounting, and information systems
• A study of the cost accounting strategies under the prospective payment system
• How to manage bad debt and charity care accounts in hospitals
• Achieving more value from managed care efforts in healthcare systems
• Strategies of achieving economies of scale through shared ancillary and support services
• Profitable ways of financing the acquisition of a health care enterprise
• Effects of mergers and acquisitions on private hospitals
• Measuring nursing costs with patient acuity data in hospitals
• Affordable treatment and care for long-term and terminal diseases
• Survey of the organization and structure of a hospital’s administration concerning financing
• Impact of culture and globalization on healthcare financing
• Discuss the necessity for universal health coverage in the United States

Finance Management Project Topics

If you are a finance management enthusiast, this section will impress you the most:

• The impact of corrupt bank managers on its sustainability
• How banks finance small and medium-scale enterprises
• Loan granting and its recovery problems on commercial banks
• An evaluation of credit management in the banking industry
• The role of microfinance banks in the alleviation of poverty in the US
• Comparative evaluation strategies in mergers and acquisitions
• How to plan and invest in the insurance sector and tax planning
• Impact of shareholders on decision-making processes on banks
• How diversity in banks affects management and leadership practices
• Credit management techniques that work for small scale enterprises
• Appraisal on the impact of effective credit management on the profitability of commercial banks
• The impact of quantitative tools of monetary policy on the performance of deposit of commercial banks
• Financial management practices in the insurance industry and risk management
• The role of the capital market in economic development
• Problems facing financial institutions to the growth of small scale business in the USA
• Why training and development of human resources is a critical factor in bank operations
• The impact of universal banking financial system on the credibility
• Security threats to effective management in banks
• The effect of fiscal and monetary policy in controlling unemployment
• The effects of financial leverage on company performance

Topics in Mathematics With Applications in Finance

Mathematics and finance correlate in several ways in that they borrow concepts from each other. Here are some of the mathematics concepts that apply to finance paper topics:

• Linear algebra
• Probability theory
• Stochastic processes
• Regression analysis
• Value at risk models
• Time series analysis
• Volatility modelling
• Regularized pricing and risk models
• Commodity models
• Portfolio theory
• Factor modelling
• Stochastic differential equations
• Ross recovery theorem
• Option, price, and probability duality
• Black-Scholes formula, Risk-neutral valuation
• Introduction to counterparty credit risk
• HJM model for interest rates and credit
• Quanto credit hedging
• Calculus in finance and its application

International Finance Topics

International finance research topics deal with a range of monetary exchanges between two or more nations. Below is a list of international research topics in finance for you to browse through and pick a relevant one:

• A study of the most important concepts in international finance
• How internal auditing enhances good corporate governance practice in an organization
• Factors that affect the capital structure of Go Public manufacturing companies
• A financial engineering perspective on the causes of large price changes
• Corporate governance and board of directors responsibilities
• An exploratory study on the management of support services in international organizations
• An accounting perspective of the need for theorizing corporation
• Impact of coronavirus on international trade relations
• Is business ethics attainable in the global market arena
• How exchange rates affect international trading
• The role of currency derivatives in shaping the global market
• How to improve international capital structure
• How to forecast exchange rates
• Ways of measuring exposure to exchange rates fluctuations
• How to hedge exposure to exchange rates fluctuations globally
• How foreign direct investment puts individual countries at risk
• How to stabilize international capital markets
• A study of shadow banking in the global environment
• A comparative analysis of Western markets and African markets
• Exploring the monetary funding opportunities by the International Monetary Fund

Corporate Finance Research Topics

These 20 topics have the potential to help you write an amazing corporate finance paper, provided you have the will to work hard on your paper:

• Short- and long-term investment needs for working capital trends
• Identifying proper capital structure models for a company
• How capital structure and an organization’s funding of its operations relate
• Corporate finance decision making in unstable stock markets
• The effect of firm size on financial decision making incorporates
• Compare and contrast the different internationally recognized corporate financial reporting standards
• Evaluate the emerging concept integrated reporting in corporate finance
• Managing transparency in corporate financial decisions
• How technological connectivity has helped in integrated financial management
• How different investment models contribute to the success of a corporate
• The essence of valuation of cash flows in financial and non-financial corporates
• Identify the prevalent financial innovations in the USA
• Ways in which governance influences corporate financial activities
• Impact of taxes on dividend policies in developed nations
• How corporate strategies related to corporate finance
• Implications of the global economic crisis in the backdrop of corporate finance concepts
• How information technology impact corporate relations among companies
• Evaluate the effectiveness of corporate financing tools and techniques
• How do FDI strategies compare in Europe and Asia?
• The role of transparency and liquidity in alternative corporate investments

Finance Debate Topics

These finance debate topics are formulated in keeping with emerging financial issues globally:

• Is China’s economy on the verge of ousting that of the US?
• Does the dynamic nature of the global market affect the financial alienations of countries?
• Is Foreign Direct Investment in retail sector good for the US?
• Is it possible to maintain stable oil prices in the world?
• Are multinational corporations good for the global economy?
• Does the country of origin matter in selling a product?
• Are financial companies misusing ethics in marketing?
• Why should consumer always be king in marketing messages?
• Does commercialization serve in the best interest of the consumer?
• Why should companies bother having a mission statement?
• Why should hospitals receive tax subsidies and levies on drugs?
• Is television the best medium for advertisement?
• Is the guarantor principle security or a myth?
• Compare and contrast market trends in capitalism versus Marxism states
• Does the name of a business have an impact on its development record?
• Is it the responsibility of the government to finance small-scale business enterprises?
• Does budgeting truly serve its purpose in a company?
• Why should agricultural imports be banned?
• Is advertising a waste of company resources?
• Why privatization will lead to less corruption in companies

Finance Topics For Presentation

Is your group or individual finance presentation giving you sleepless nights just because you do not have a topic? Worry no more!

• The role of diplomatic ties in enhancing financial relations between countries
• Should banks use force when recovering loans from long-term defaulters?
• Why mortgages are becoming difficult to repay among the middle class
• Ways of improving the skilled workforce in developing
• How technology creates income disparities among social classes
• The role of rational thinking in making financial decisions
• How much capital is necessary for a start-up?
• Are investments in betting firms good for young people?
• How co-operatives are important in promoting communism in a society
• Why should countries stop receiving foreign aids and depend on themselves?
• Compare and contrast the performance of private sectors over public sectors
• How frequent should reforms be conducted in companies?
• How globalization affects nationalism
• Theories of financial development that is still applicable today
• Should business people head the finance ministry of countries?
• The impact of the transport sector on revenue and tax collection
• The impact of space exploration on the country’s economy
• How regional blocs are impacting developing nations
• Factors contributing to the growth of online scams
• What is the impact of trade unions in promoting businesses?

Finance Research Topics For MBA

Here is our best list of top-rated MBA financial topics to write about in 2023, which will generate more passion for a debate:

• Evaluate the effect of the Global crisis to use the line of credit in maintaining cash flow
• Discuss options for investment in the shipping industry in the US
• Financial risk management in the maritime industry: A case study of the blue economy
• Analyze the various financial risk indicators
• Financial laws that prevent volatility in the financial market
• How the global recession has impacted domestic banking industries
• Discuss IMF’s initiatives in tackling internal inefficiency of new projects
• How the WTO is essential in the global financial market
• The link between corporate and capital structures
• Why is it important to have an individual investment?
• How to handle credit crisis in financial marketing
• Financial planning for salaried employee and strategies for tax savings
• A study on Cost And Costing Models in Companies
• A critical study on investment patterns and preferences of retail investors
• Risk portfolio and perception management of equity investors
• Is there room for improvement in electronic payment systems?
• Risks and opportunities of investments versus savings
• Impact of investor awareness towards commodities in the market
• Is taxation a selling tool for life insurance
• Impact of earnings per share

Public Finance Topics

These interesting finance topics may augur well with university students majoring in public finance:

• Financial assistance for businesses and workers during Coronavirus lockdowns
• Debt sustainability in developing countries
• How we can use public money to leverage private funds
• Analyze the use of public funds in developed versus developing countries
• The reliability of sovereign credit ratings for investors in government securities
• Propose a method of analysis on the cost-benefit ratio of any government project
• The role of entities in charge of financial intermediation
• The reciprocity and impact of tariff barriers
• Impact of the exempted goods prices on the trade deficit
• Investor penalties and its impact in the form of taxes and penalties
• Public government projects that use private funds
• Ways of measuring the cost of sustainability
• Maintaining economic growth to avoid a strong recession
• The impact of the declining income and consumption rates
• Effects of quarantine and forced suspension of economic activity
• Innovative means of limiting the scale of pandemic development
• The growing scale of the public debt of the public finance system
• A critical analysis of the epidemiological safety instruments used in countries
• The growing debt crisis of the state finance system
• How to permanently improve and increase the scale of anti-crisis socio-economic policy planning

Business Finance Topics

You can address the following business finance research papers topics for your next assignment:

• How organizations are raising and managing funds
• Analyze the planning, analysis, and control operations and responsibilities of the financial manager
• Why business managers should take advantage of the federal stimulus package
• Economical ways of negotiating for lower monthly bills
• Evaluate the best retirement plans for entrepreneurs
• Tax reform changes needed to spearhead businesses to the next level
• How politicians can help small businesses make it to the top
• Setting up life insurance policies from which you can sidestep the banks and loan yourself money
• Why every business manager should know about profit and loss statements, revenue by customers and more.
• Advantages of creating multiple corporations to business entrepreneurs
• Why good liquidity is a vital weapon in the face of a crisis
• Reasons why many people are declaring bankruptcy during the coronavirus pandemic
• Why you should closely examine the numbers before making any financial decisions
• Benefits of corporations to small scale business ventures
• How to start a business without money at hand
• Strategies for improving your company’s online presence
• Discuss the challenge of debt versus equity for small-scale businesses
• The impact of financial decisions on the profitability and the risk of a firm’s operations
• Striking a balance between risk and profitability
• Why taking the ratio of current assets to current liabilities is important to any business

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