Researcher introduction: Annika Nivala
We interviewed Annika Nivala for our researcher introduction series. Read the text below to see what Annika is working on.
Please introduce yourself
I’m Annika Nivala and I’m a senior researcher here at VATT. I received my doctorate last autumn from the University of Turku. After I receiving my doctorate, I worked at Labore for a while. In my research, I focus on public finance and labor economics, especially on how public policy effects the decision making in firms.
What kind of research are you currently working on?
I’m still working on some of my old thesis projects. Currently, I’m studying how a wage subsidy for hiring a company’s first employee effects the ways companies become employers. In relation to this research, I’m involved in the planningplanning of a similar hiring subsidy experiment for sole proprietors.
What type of research projects will you work on next?
I’m involved in a lot of different projects. In one project, we look at the effects tax subsidies have on companies. In another project, we study the effects of university expansion on regional economics. We are also looking at the mobility of individuals across regions. If, for example, a university was established in Oulu (in Northern Finland), would that increase or decrease the likelyhood of people moving from Oulu to the capital region? Basically, we want to examine the role of universities in regional economics.
Which question on economics would you like to able to answer right now? Why are you interested in this particular question?
I would like to know the reason for the so-called child penalty. Having children seems to have a negative impact on women’s incomes and employment evenfor 10 or even 20 years later. There doesn’t seem to be a similar negative labour market effect on men’s careers from having children. So, why is it that after having a child women’s average incomes suffer?
What would solving the causes of the child penalty mean?
Solving this question would have large implications. Whatever the primary cause, by solving it we would be able to determine which public policies should be adopted to equalize these differences between genders. We could also find out whether these differences should be equalized at all with the use of public policy.
Annika Nivala
Blog
Blogit
Business taxation and regulation
Income distribution and inequality
Social security
Taxation
