Dr Matthew Rablen

Department of Economics

Reader in Economics

m.rablen@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 9654

Room 406, 9 Mappin Street

Full contact details

Dr Matthew Rablen
Department of Economics
Room 406
9 Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 4DT

Profile

Matthew is a former government economist, where he advised on issues relating to tax compliance and savings tax policy. His research interests are in tax compliance, behavioural economics, and applied microeconomics. He is Managing Editor of Journal of Tax Administration, an Associate Editor of Public Finance Review, and a member of the ESRC-funded Tax Administration Research Centre. He is also an affiliate of CESifo and IZA.

Matthew graduated with first class honours from the University of Nottingham and attained his PhD at the University of Warwick. He has previously held positions at Brunel University London and University of Westminster.

Research interests

Matthew's research is in public economics and behavioural economics.

He focuses on four inter-related areas: understanding the determinants of tax compliance, the link between economic quantities and subjective happiness, explaining decision-making under risk with models of behavioural economics, and designing voting systems for international institutions.

Currently he is exploring the role of social networks on compliance behaviour, the role of relative income in the utility function, and the reform of the UN Security Council.

Matthew supervises PhD students interested in microeconomic theory and behavioural economics.

Publications

Journal articles

Li J, Gamannossi Degl'Innocenti D & Rablen MD (2023) Marketed tax avoidance: an economic analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 125(3), 753-788.
Kasper M & Rablen MD (2023) Tax Compliance After an Audit: Higher or Lower?. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 207, 157-171.
Rablen MD & Samuel A (2021) Self-reporting and market structure. Economica, 88(351), 782-808.
Bennett J & Rablen MD (2021) Bribery, hold-up, and bureaucratic structure. Economic Inquiry, 59(3), 880-903.
Gould M & Rablen MD (2020) Voluntary disclosure schemes for offshore tax evasion. International Tax and Public Finance, 27(4), 805-831.
Gamannossi degl'Innocenti D & Rablen MD (2020) Tax evasion on a social network. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 169(1), 79-91.
Gamannossi degl'Innocenti D & Rablen MD (2017) Tax avoidance and optimal income tax enforcement. Journal of Tax Administration, 3(2), 36-64.
Gamannossi degl'Innocenti D & Rablen MD (2017) Income tax avoidance and evasion: A narrow bracketing approach. Public Finance Review, 45(6), 815-837.
Gould M & Rablen MD (2017) Reform of the United Nations Security Council: equity and efficiency. Public Choice, 173(1-2), 145-168.
Piolatto A & Rablen MD (2017) Prospect theory and tax evasion: a reconsideration of the Yitzhaki puzzle. Theory and Decision, 82(4), 543-565.
Gould M & Rablen MD (2016) Equitable representation in councils: theory and an application to the United Nations Security Council. Public Choice, 169(1-2), 19-51.
Hashimzade N, Myles GD & Rablen MD (2016) Predictive analytics and the targeting of audits. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 124(1), 130-145.
Bennett J & Rablen MD (2015) Self-employment, wage employment, and informality in a developing economy. Oxford Economic Papers, 67(2), 227-244.
Hashimzade N, Myles GD, Page F & Rablen MD (2015) The use of agent-based modelling to investigate tax compliance. Economics of Governance, 16(2), 143-164.
Rablen MD (2014) Audit Probability versus Effectiveness: The Beckerian Approach Revisited. Journal of Public Economic Theory, 16(2), 322-342.
Hashimzade N, Myles GD, Page F & Rablen MD (2014) Social networks and occupational choice: The endogenous formation of attitudes and beliefs about tax compliance. Journal of Economic Psychology, 40(1), 134-146.
Dreher A, Gould M, Rablen MD & Vreeland JR (2014) The determinants of election to the United Nations Security Council. Public Choice, 158(1-2), 51-83.
Rablen MD (2013) Divergence in credit ratings. Finance Research Letters, 10(1), 12-16.
Bennett J, Gould M & Rablen MD (2012) Risk attitudes and informal employment in a developing economy. IZA Journal of Development and Migration, 1(December 2012).
Rablen MD (2012) The promotion of local wellbeing: A primer for policymakers. Local Economy, 27(3), 297-314.
Rablen MD (2010) Performance targets, effort and risk-taking. Journal of Economic Psychology, 31(4), 687-697.
Rablen MD (2010) Tax evasion and exchange equity: a reference-dependent approach. Public Finance Review, 38(3), 282-305.
Rablen MD (2010) The Saving Gateway: Implications for optimal saving. Fiscal Studies, 31(2), 203-225.
Rablen MD & Oswald AJ (2008) Mortality and immortality: The Nobel Prize as an experiment into the effect of status upon longevity. Journal of Health Economics, 27(6), 1462-1471.
Rablen MD (2008) Relativity, rank and the utility of income. The Economic Journal, 118(528), 801-821.
Rablen MD & Meier V () Political economy of redistribution between traditional and modern families. International Tax and Public Finance.

Teaching activities

Matthew has teaching experience across a wide range of areas in economics and finance. He encourages critical thinking, and asks students to challenge their perceptions and understanding.

ECN222 Economic Decision Making
ECN357 Modern Finance
ECN6105 Modern Finance