IMF RESEARCHER

Li Liu is a senior economist in the Fiscal Affairs Department. Before joining the IMF, she was Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation. Her research focuses on public economics, in particular corporate taxation and finance, and development economics. Li’s research has been published in leading academic journals and cited in influential publications such as The Economist, The New York Times, The Independent, Forbes and CBS. Li is also a research fellow at the University of Oxford and ZEW in Mannheim, and an associate editor of International Tax and Public Finance.

Email: LLIU@imf.org

Personal WebPage: https://sites.google.com/site/liulieconomics/

Fluent In: Chinese.

Field of Expertise:

Public Finance

International Trade

Development Economics

IMF Books and Working Papers:

At A Cost: The Real Effects of Thin Capitalization Rules , Working Paper No. 2021/023 , February 05, 2021

Exploring Residual Profit Allocation , Working Paper No. 20/49 , February 28, 2020

The Impact of Profit Shifting on Economic Activity and Tax Competition , Working Paper No. 19/287 , December 20, 2019

An Assessment of Global Formula Apportionment , Working Paper No. 19/213 , October 11, 2019

VAT Notches, Voluntary Registration, and Bunching: Theory and UK Evidence , Working Paper No. 19/205 , September 27, 2019

Personal Income Tax Progressivity: Trends and Implications , Working Paper No. 18/246 , November 20, 2018

International Corporate Tax Avoidance: A Review of the Channels, Magnitudes, and Blind Spots , Working Paper No. 18/168 , July 23, 2018

Are Elasticities of Taxable Income Rising? , Working Paper No. 18/132 , June 13, 2018

At A Cost: the Real Effects of Transfer Pricing Regulations , Working Paper No. 18/69 , March 23, 2018

Where Does Multinational Investment Go with Territorial Taxation? Evidence from the UK , Working Paper No. 18/7 , January 12, 2018

IMF Country Reports

Canada 2018 Article IV Staff Report

People’s Republic of China : Tax Policy and Employment Creation

IMF Occasional Papers, Pamphlets, and Special Issues Papers

Canada: Taxing Business in a Changing World

Uganda: Issues in International Taxation

Kenya: International Taxation Issues in Kenya

Corporate Taxation in the Global Economy

Other Published Materials

Effectiveness of Fiscal Incentives for R&D : Quasi-Experimental Evidence

Tackling Inequality, IMF Fiscal Monitor, October 2017 (joint with Mercedes Garcia-Escribano, Alexander Klemm, and other FAD colleagues)

Upgrading the Tax System to Boost Productivity, IMF Fiscal Monitor, April 2017 (joint with Laura Jaramillo Mayor, João Jalles, Florian Misch, Adrian Peralta, and Mousse Sow)

Publications in Journals (Refereed)

VAT Notches, Voluntary Registration, and Bunching: Theory and UK Evidence (with Ben Lockwood, Miguel Almunia and Eddy H. F. Tam), Review of Economics and Statistics, forthcoming

International Transfer Pricing and Tax Avoidance: Evidence from the linked Tax-Trade Statistics in the UK (with Tim Schmidt-Eisenlohr and Dongxian Guo), Review of Economics and Statistics, forthcoming

Income Tax Progressivity: Trends and Implications (with Claudia Gerber, Alexander Klemm, and Victor Mylonas), Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 82(2): 365-386, April 2020

At A Cost: the Real Effects of Transfer Pricing Regulations (with Ruud de Mooij), IMF Economic Review, Volume 68, pp 268–306, March 2020

Where Does Multinational Investment Go with Territorial Taxation? Evidence from the UK, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Vol 12 (1), February, 2020, pp. 325-58

UK Accelerated Depreciation Policy in an International Context (with Andrew Harper), British Tax Review, Issue 3, 257 - 264, August 2019

International Effects of the U.S. Tax Reform: A View from the Front Line (with Peter Harris and Michael Keen), Canadian Tax Journal, Volume 67, Issue 1, 2019

International Corporate Tax Avoidance: A Review of the Channels, Magnitudes, and Blind Spots (with Sebastian Beer and Ruud De Mooij), forthcoming, Journal of Economic Surveys

How Effective are Fiscal Incentives in R&D-Intensive Sectors? (with Irem Guceri) American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Vol. 11, no. 1, February 2019, (pp. 266-91)

Income Taxes and Business Incorporation: Evidence from the Early Twentieth Century, National Tax Journal, June 2014, 67(2)

The Elasticity of Corporate Taxable Income: New Evidence from UK Tax Records (with Michael Devereux and Simon Loretz), The American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, May 2014, 6(2)

Temporary Increase in Annual Investment Allowance: A 2013 Finance Act Note (with Andrew Harper), British Tax Review, October 2013, Issue 4

Measuring the Burden of the Corporate Income Tax under Imperfect Competition (with Rosanne Altshuler), National Tax Journal, March 2013, 66 (1), 215–238

Publications in Books and Conference Volumes

Formulary Methods in International Taxation (with Ruud de Mooij and Shafik Hebous), book chapter in Ontwerp voor een Beter Belastingstelsel (Design for a Better Tax System) (in Dutch), December 2019

Li Liu is a senior economist in the Fiscal Affairs Department. Before joining the IMF, she was Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation. Her research focuses on public economics, in particular corporate taxation and finance, and development economics. Li’s research has been published in leading academic journals and cited in influential publications such as The Economist, The New York Times, The Independent, Forbes and CBS. Li is also a research fellow at the University of Oxford and ZEW in Mannheim, and an associate editor of International Tax and Public Finance.

Email: LLIU@imf.org

Personal WebPage: https://sites.google.com/site/liulieconomics/

Fluent In: Chinese.

Field of Expertise:

Public Finance

International Trade

Development Economics

IMF Books and Working Papers:

At A Cost: The Real Effects of Thin Capitalization Rules , Working Paper No. 2021/023 , February 05, 2021

Exploring Residual Profit Allocation , Working Paper No. 20/49 , February 28, 2020

The Impact of Profit Shifting on Economic Activity and Tax Competition , Working Paper No. 19/287 , December 20, 2019

An Assessment of Global Formula Apportionment , Working Paper No. 19/213 , October 11, 2019

VAT Notches, Voluntary Registration, and Bunching: Theory and UK Evidence , Working Paper No. 19/205 , September 27, 2019

Personal Income Tax Progressivity: Trends and Implications , Working Paper No. 18/246 , November 20, 2018

International Corporate Tax Avoidance: A Review of the Channels, Magnitudes, and Blind Spots , Working Paper No. 18/168 , July 23, 2018

Are Elasticities of Taxable Income Rising? , Working Paper No. 18/132 , June 13, 2018

At A Cost: the Real Effects of Transfer Pricing Regulations , Working Paper No. 18/69 , March 23, 2018

Where Does Multinational Investment Go with Territorial Taxation? Evidence from the UK , Working Paper No. 18/7 , January 12, 2018

IMF Country Reports

Canada 2018 Article IV Staff Report

People’s Republic of China : Tax Policy and Employment Creation

IMF Occasional Papers, Pamphlets, and Special Issues Papers

Canada: Taxing Business in a Changing World

Uganda: Issues in International Taxation

Kenya: International Taxation Issues in Kenya

Corporate Taxation in the Global Economy

Other Published Materials

Effectiveness of Fiscal Incentives for R&D : Quasi-Experimental Evidence

Tackling Inequality, IMF Fiscal Monitor, October 2017 (joint with Mercedes Garcia-Escribano, Alexander Klemm, and other FAD colleagues)

Upgrading the Tax System to Boost Productivity, IMF Fiscal Monitor, April 2017 (joint with Laura Jaramillo Mayor, João Jalles, Florian Misch, Adrian Peralta, and Mousse Sow)

Publications in Journals (Refereed)

VAT Notches, Voluntary Registration, and Bunching: Theory and UK Evidence (with Ben Lockwood, Miguel Almunia and Eddy H. F. Tam), Review of Economics and Statistics, forthcoming

International Transfer Pricing and Tax Avoidance: Evidence from the linked Tax-Trade Statistics in the UK (with Tim Schmidt-Eisenlohr and Dongxian Guo), Review of Economics and Statistics, forthcoming

Income Tax Progressivity: Trends and Implications (with Claudia Gerber, Alexander Klemm, and Victor Mylonas), Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 82(2): 365-386, April 2020

At A Cost: the Real Effects of Transfer Pricing Regulations (with Ruud de Mooij), IMF Economic Review, Volume 68, pp 268–306, March 2020

Where Does Multinational Investment Go with Territorial Taxation? Evidence from the UK, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Vol 12 (1), February, 2020, pp. 325-58

UK Accelerated Depreciation Policy in an International Context (with Andrew Harper), British Tax Review, Issue 3, 257 - 264, August 2019

International Effects of the U.S. Tax Reform: A View from the Front Line (with Peter Harris and Michael Keen), Canadian Tax Journal, Volume 67, Issue 1, 2019

International Corporate Tax Avoidance: A Review of the Channels, Magnitudes, and Blind Spots (with Sebastian Beer and Ruud De Mooij), forthcoming, Journal of Economic Surveys

How Effective are Fiscal Incentives in R&D-Intensive Sectors? (with Irem Guceri) American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Vol. 11, no. 1, February 2019, (pp. 266-91)

Income Taxes and Business Incorporation: Evidence from the Early Twentieth Century, National Tax Journal, June 2014, 67(2)

The Elasticity of Corporate Taxable Income: New Evidence from UK Tax Records (with Michael Devereux and Simon Loretz), The American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, May 2014, 6(2)

Temporary Increase in Annual Investment Allowance: A 2013 Finance Act Note (with Andrew Harper), British Tax Review, October 2013, Issue 4

Measuring the Burden of the Corporate Income Tax under Imperfect Competition (with Rosanne Altshuler), National Tax Journal, March 2013, 66 (1), 215–238

Publications in Books and Conference Volumes

Formulary Methods in International Taxation (with Ruud de Mooij and Shafik Hebous), book chapter in Ontwerp voor een Beter Belastingstelsel (Design for a Better Tax System) (in Dutch), December 2019