Raisa Sherif / Sven A. Simon

Faced with climate change and the loss of biodiversity, many people are trying to make a difference through everyday choices—for example, through voluntary carbon offsetting. But what exactly motivates these actions? Are people driven mainly by the desire to protect the planet, by the hope of inspiring others, or by wanting to be seen as environmentally responsible? And do visible acts of environmental behaviour actually encourage other people to behave in an environmentally friendly manner as well?

Published: Sherif, R. / Simon, S. A., 2025. Impact, Inspire, or Image: On the Trade-Offs Between Efficient and Visible Pro- Environmental Behaviors. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 134, Article No. 103214. DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103214

Prof. Dr. Andrés Báez Moreno

... under this title, Professor Andrés Báez Moreno has published a critical article on the OECD Model Tax Convention and its further development in the Canadian Tax Journal. “The new preamble to the OECD Model Tax Convention is either irrelevant because it adds nothing new, or worse, because it requires a reassessment of many generally accepted rules and principles underlying the interpretation and application of tax treaties,” said Professor Baez Moreno.

Published: Canadian Tax Journal, 2025, Volume 73, Nr. 1, p. 1 - 39.

Isabelle Richelle/Wolfgang Schön/Edoardo Traversa (eds.)

In November 2023, the Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance, the Université Catholique de Louvain, and the Tax Institute of the University of Liège held a conference at the Palais des Académies in Brussels to discuss this controversial topic with leading experts. The presentations given at this conference have been published in Volume 12 of the MPI Studies in Tax Law and Public Finance series, entitled “Abuse of Law in European Taxation.”

Published: Berlin 2025, Springer, 256 p.

Kai A. Konrad / Sven A. Simon

In many areas, the state restricts individual freedoms in order to protect its citizens from potentially self-harming behavior. Prominent examples include the compulsory use of seatbelts in cars and the prohibition of certain drugs. But how do individuals react? Do they perceive such regulation as welcome protection or unacceptable intrusion - or something in between? And is it possible to measure these different attitudes? Kai A. Konrad and Sven A. Simon have developed a preference indicator, the Paternalism Preference Index, and validated it in a large-scale study. They also analyze the relationship between an individual's preference for paternalism and the perceived role of personal freedoms for their life satisfaction.

Published: Konrad, K. A. und Simon, S. A., 2025. Paternalism Attitudes and the Happiness Value of Fundamental Freedoms. Economics of Governance. Open Access: DOI 10.1007/s10101-024-00322-y

Afiq bin Oslan

Existing research shows that historical economic and political experiences are important in shaping modern society. In this paper, Afiq bin Oslan explains why this is the case using evolutionary game-theoretic models. The models demonstrate that it is surprisingly easy for the past to persist and emphasise the difficulty of social change.

Published: bin Oslan, A. (2024). Rationality and Society, 0(0).