Foto: Colourbox, Morten Normann Almeland
Oslo Fiscal Studies (OFS) is a centre for public economics based on cooperation among the Department of Economics at the University of Oslo, Statistics Norway, and the Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research. It was founded in August 2012 and is funded by a grant from the Research Council of Norway until July 31 2020.
The overall objective of OFS is to expand the volume and enhance the quality of research and teaching in public economics and tax analysis in particular. The Centre provides a forum for local and international scholars to interact and do research. OFS is a research unit organised around a core group of researchers and network affiliates and will host a number of visitors.
Access to individual register data has made Norway and Scandinavia a hub of empirical research based on micro data. To fully exploit the potential of the data requires a thorough understanding of the theory used in public economics, a detailed knowledge of the institutional setting and the reforms that have been implemented over time and a firm understanding of the econometric methods that are used to estimate relevant public policy parameters. The researchers affiliated with OFS combine the required knowledge, and our goal is to use our resources to conduct research that will improve our understanding of how tax and transfer policies affect economic activities and human welfare.