Joel Slemrod

Joel Slemrod

(734) 936-3914
Room R5396
David Bradford Distinguished University Professor of Economics Paul W. McCracken Collegiate Professor of Business Economics
Professor of Economics
Chair, Department of Economics
Faculty Director, Office of Tax Policy Research
Education
PhD Harvard University 1980
AB Princeton University 1973
Academic Areas
Business Economics and Public Policy
Research
Biography

Joel Slemrod studies and writes about tax policy. In 1984-5 he was senior staff economist at the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, and has been a consultant to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Canadian Department of Finance, the New Zealand Department of Treasury, the South African Ministry of Finance, the World Bank, the OECD, and several corporations. From 1992 to 1998, he was editor of the National Tax Journal. He is co-author with Leonard E. Burman of Taxes in America: What Everyone Needs to Know, co-author with Christian Gillitzer of Tax Systems, published in 2014, and co-author with Jon Bakija of Taxing Ourselves: A Citizen's Guide to the Debate over Taxes, whose 5th edition was published in 2017.  His latest book is Rebellion, Rascals and Revenue: Tax Follies and Wisdom through the Ages, co-authored with Michael Keen and published by Princeton University Press in 2021.

Latest Faculty News & Research
Featured Books
Tax Systems
Buy BookOpens a new window
Tax Systems
Slemrod, J. and Gillitzer, C.
Despite its theoretical elegance, the standard optimal tax model has significant limitations. In this book, Joel Slemrod and Christian Gillitzer argue that tax analysis must move beyond the emphasis on optimal tax rates and bases to consider such aspects of taxation as administration, compliance, and remittance. Slemrod and Gillitzer explore what they term a tax-systems approach, which takes tax...
Taxes in America: What Everyone Needs to Know
Buy BookOpens a new window
Taxes in America: What Everyone Needs to Know
Joel Slemrod, Leonard E. Burman
Despite their passion and fury, contemporary Americans are remarkably clueless about how their tax system works. But with heated debates over taxation now roiling Congress and the nation, an understanding of our tax system is of vital importance. Taxes in America: What Everyone Needs to Know®, by preeminent tax scholars Leonard E. Burman and Joel Slemrod, offers a clear, concise explanation of how...
"Tax Losses and the Ex Ante Transfer of Intellectual Property
Authors
Sharma, R.; Slemrod, J.; Stimmelmayr, M.
Published Date
10/2023
Authors
Sharma, R.; Slemrod, J.; Stimmelmayr, M.
Source
Journal of Public Economics
Volume
226
Three Decades of Tax Analysis, 1992-2022
Authors
Slemrod J.
Published Date
12/2023
Authors
Slemrod J.
Source
National Tax Journal
“Are Capital Gains the Achilles’ Heel of Taxing the Rich?” (
Authors
Slemrod, J.; Chen, X.
Published Date
10/2023
Authors
Slemrod, J.; Chen, X.
Source
Oxford Review of Economic Policy
"Group Equity and Implicit Discrimination in Tax Systems"
Authors
Slemrod, J.
Published Date
2022
Authors
Slemrod, J.
Source
National Tax Journal
Volume
75
Issue
1
Pages
201-224
"How Do Taxpayers Respond to Public Disclosure and Social Recognition Programs? Evidence from Pakistan"
Authors
Slemrod, J.; Waseem, M.; Rehman, O.
Published Date
2022
Authors
Slemrod, J.; Waseem, M.; Rehman, O.
Source
Review of Economics and Statistics
Volume
104
Issue
1
Pages
116-132
"Who Sells During a Crash? Evidence from Tax-Return Data on Daily Stock Sales"
Authors
Hoopes, J.; Langetieg, P.; Nagel, S.; Reck, D.; Slemrod, J.; Stuart, B.
Published Date
2022
Authors
Hoopes, J.; Langetieg, P.; Nagel, S.; Reck, D.; Slemrod, J.; Stuart, B.
Source
Economic Journal
Volume
132
Issue
641
Pages
299-325
Gifts to Government Opens a new window
Authors
Slemrod, J. and Kuchumova, Y.
Published Date
01/2022
Authors
Slemrod, J. and Kuchumova, Y.
Source
International Tax and Public Finance
Volume
0
Issue
0
Pages
0
Optimal Tax Systems with Endogenous Behavioral Biases
Authors
Slemrod, J. and Moore, D.
Published Date
05/2021
Authors
Slemrod, J. and Moore, D.
Source
Journal of Public Economics
Volume
197
Issue
1
Pages
1-18
Taxing Our Wealth
Authors
Scheuer, F., and Slemrod, J.
Published Date
2021
Authors
Scheuer, F., and Slemrod, J.
Source
Journal of Economic Perspectives
Volume
35
Issue
1
Pages
207-230
Heard it Through the Grapevine: A Randomized Experiment Assessing Direct and Network Effects of the Tax Enforcement Strategies.
Authors
Boning, W., Guyton, J., Hodge, R., Troiano, U., and Slemrod, J.
Published Date
2020
Authors
Boning, W., Guyton, J., Hodge, R., Troiano, U., and Slemrod, J.
Source
Journal of Public Economics
Volume
190
Issue
C
Pages
N-N
Missing Miles: Evasion Responses to Car Taxes
Authors
Slemrod, J., Harju, J., and Kosonen, T.
Published Date
2020
Authors
Slemrod, J., Harju, J., and Kosonen, T.
Source
Journal of Public Economics
Volume
181
Issue
C
Pages
N-N
Taxation and the Superrich
Authors
Slemrod, J. and Scheuer, F.
Published Date
2020
Authors
Slemrod, J. and Scheuer, F.
Source
Annual Review of Economics
Volume
12
Issue
0
Pages
189-211
Taxing Hidden Wealth: The Consequences of U.S. Enforcement Initiatives on Evasive Foreign Accounts
Authors
Johannesen, N., Langetieg, P., Reck, D., Risch, M., and Slemrod, J.
Published Date
2020
Authors
Johannesen, N., Langetieg, P., Reck, D., Risch, M., and Slemrod, J.
Source
American Economic Journal -- Policy
Volume
12
Issue
3
Pages
312-346
Tax Compliance and Enforcement
Authors
Slemrod, J.
Published Date
12/2019
Authors
Slemrod, J.
Source
Journal of Economic Literature
Volume
57
Issue
4
Pages
904-54
Distributional Implications of Joint Tax Evasion
Authors
Nygard, O., Slemrod, J., and Thoresen, T.
Published Date
2018
Authors
Nygard, O., Slemrod, J., and Thoresen, T.
Source
Economic Journal
Volume
10
Issue
111
Pages
1-30
Do Firms Remit 85% of Tax Everywhere? New Evidence form India
Authors
Slemrod, J., and Velayudhan, T.
Published Date
2018
Authors
Slemrod, J., and Velayudhan, T.
Source
Journal of Tax Administration
Volume
4
Issue
1
Pages
24-37
Is This Tax Reform, or Just Confusion?
Authors
Joel Slemrod
Published Date
2018
Authors
Joel Slemrod
Source
Journal of Economic Perspectives
Volume
32
Issue
4
Pages
73-96
Public Tax-Return Disclosure
Authors
Hoopes, J., Neubig, T., Robinson, L., and Slemrod J.
Published Date
8/2018
Authors
Hoopes, J., Neubig, T., Robinson, L., and Slemrod J.
Source
Journal of Accounting and Economics
Volume
66
Issue
1
Pages
142-162
Real Firms in Tax Systems
Authors
Boning, W. and Slemrod, J.
Published Date
2018
Authors
Boning, W. and Slemrod, J.
Source
Finanzarchiv (Public Finance Analysis)
Volume
74
Issue
1
Pages
131-143
Tax Reform and Tax Experts
Authors
Slemrod, J.
Published Date
2018
Authors
Slemrod, J.
Source
Journal of the American Tax Association
Volume
40
Issue
2
Pages
83-88
A Characteristics Approach to Optimal Taxation: Line Drawing and Tax-Driven Product Innovation
Authors
Gillitzer, C., Kleven, H., and Slemrod, J.
Published Date
04/2017
Authors
Gillitzer, C., Kleven, H., and Slemrod, J.
Source
Scandinavian Journal of Economics
Volume
119
Issue
2
Pages
240-267
A Characteristics Approach to Optimal Taxation: Line Drawing and Tax-Driven Product Innovation
Authors
Gillitzer, C., Kleven, H., and Slemrod, J.
Published Date
2017
Authors
Gillitzer, C., Kleven, H., and Slemrod, J.
Source
Scandinavian Journal of Economics
Volume
119
Issue
2
Pages
240-267
Does Credit-Card Information Reporting Improve Small-Business Tax Compliance?
Authors
Collins, B., Hoopes, J., Reck, D., Sebastiani, and Slemrod, J.
Published Date
2017
Authors
Collins, B., Hoopes, J., Reck, D., Sebastiani, and Slemrod, J.
Source
Journal of Public Economics
Volume
149
Issue
May
Pages
1-19
Optimal Tax Administration
Authors
Keen, M. and Slemrod J.
Published Date
2017
Authors
Keen, M. and Slemrod J.
Source
Journal of Public Economics
Volume
152
Issue
August
Pages
133-142
The Behavioral Response to Housing Transfer Taxes: Evidence from a Notched Change in D.C. Policy
Authors
Shan, H., Slemrod, J., and Weber, C.
Published Date
2017
Authors
Shan, H., Slemrod, J., and Weber, C.
Source
Journal of Urban Economics
Volume
100
Issue
July
Pages
137-153
Caveats on the Research Use of Tax-Return Administration Data
Authors
Slemrod, J.
Published Date
12/2016
Authors
Slemrod, J.
Source
National Tax Journal
Volume
69
Issue
4
Pages
1003-1020
Does Evasion Invalidate the Welfare Sufficiency of the ETI?
Authors
Gillitzer, C. and Slemrod, J.
Published Date
10/2016
Authors
Gillitzer, C. and Slemrod, J.
Source
BE Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy (Advances Tier)
Volume
16
Issue
4
Pages
Article 7
Does Tax-Collection Invariance Hold? Evasion and Pass-Through of State Diesel Taxes
Authors
Kopczuk, W., Marion, J., Muehlegger, E., and Slemrod, J.
Published Date
05/2016
Authors
Kopczuk, W., Marion, J., Muehlegger, E., and Slemrod, J.
Source
AEJ - Economic Policy
Volume
8
Issue
2
Pages
251-286
How Do Corporate Tax Bases Change When Corporate Tax Rates Change? With Implications for Tax Rate Elasticity of Corporate Taxable Income
Authors
Kawano, L. and Slemrod, J.
Published Date
06/2016
Authors
Kawano, L. and Slemrod, J.
Source
International Tax and Public Finance
Volume
23
Issue
3
Pages
401-433
Using the "Smart Return" to Reduce Tax Evasion and Simplify Tax Filing
Authors
Bankman, J., Nass, C., and Slemrod, J.
Published Date
2016
Authors
Bankman, J., Nass, C., and Slemrod, J.
Source
Tax Law Review
Volume
69
Issue
4
Pages
459-484
Sexing Up Tax Administration (lead article in inaugural issue)
Authors
Slemrod, Joel
Published Date
2015
Authors
Slemrod, Joel
Source
Journal of Tax Administration
Volume
1
Issue
1
Pages
6-22
Subnational Competition: Tax Competition, Competition in Urban Areas, and Education Competition
Authors
Agrawal, D., Fox, W., and Slemrod, J.
Published Date
2015
Authors
Agrawal, D., Fox, W., and Slemrod, J.
Source
National Tax Journal
Volume
68
Issue
3S
Pages
701-734
Taxes on the Internet: Deterrence Effects of Public Disclosure in Norway
Authors
Slemrod, J., Thoresen, T.O., Bo, E. E.
Published Date
2015
Authors
Slemrod, J., Thoresen, T.O., Bo, E. E.
Source
AEJ - Economic Policy
Volume
7
Issue
1
Pages
36-67
Taxpayer Search for Information: Implications for Rational Attention
Authors
Hoopes, J., Reck, D., and Slemrod, J.
Published Date
08/2015
Authors
Hoopes, J., Reck, D., and Slemrod, J.
Source
AEJ - Economic Policy
Volume
7
Issue
3
Pages
177-208
Distinguishing the Role of Authority "In" and Authority "To"
Authors
Silverman, D., Slemrod, J., Uler, N.
Published Date
2014
Authors
Silverman, D., Slemrod, J., Uler, N.
Source
Journal of Public Economics
Volume
113
Issue
(2014)
Pages
32-42
Insights from a Tax-Systems Perspective
Authors
Slemrod, J. and Gillitzer, C.
Published Date
03/2014
Authors
Slemrod, J. and Gillitzer, C.
Source
CESifo Economic Papers
Volume
60
Issue
1
Pages
1-31
Expert and Public Attitudes towards Tax Policy: 2013, 1994, and 1934
Authors
Lim, D., Slemrod, J., and Wilking, E.
Published Date
12/2013
Authors
Lim, D., Slemrod, J., and Wilking, E.
Source
National Tax Journal
Volume
66
Issue
4
Pages
775-806
The Effect of Public Disclosure on Reported Taxable Income: Evidence from Individuals and Corporations in Japan
Authors
Slemrod, J., Hasegawa, M., Hoopes, J., and Ishida, R.
Published Date
09/2013
Authors
Slemrod, J., Hasegawa, M., Hoopes, J., and Ishida, R.
Source
National Tax Journal
Volume
66
Issue
3
Pages
571-608
Car Notches: Strategic Automaker Responses to Fuel Economy Policy
Authors
Joel Slemrod, James Sallee
Published Date
12/2012
Authors
Joel Slemrod, James Sallee
Source
Journal of Public Economics
Volume
96
Issue
11-12
Pages
981-999
Check in the Mail or More in the Paycheck? Does the Effectiveness of Fiscal Stimulus Depend on How It Is Delivered?
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Claudia Sahm, Matthew Shapiro
Published Date
08/2012
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Claudia Sahm, Matthew Shapiro
Source
AEJ - Economic Policy
Volume
4
Issue
3
Pages
216-250
Evidence of the Invisible? Toward a Credibility Revolution in the Empirical Analysis of Tax Evasion and the Informal Economy
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Caroline Weber
Published Date
02/2012
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Caroline Weber
Source
International Tax and Public Finance
Volume
19
Issue
1
Pages
25-53
The Elasticity of Taxable Income with Respect to Marginal Tax Rates: A Critical Review
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Emmanuel Saez, Seth Giertz
Published Date
03/2012
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Emmanuel Saez, Seth Giertz
Source
Journal of Economic Literature
Volume
50
Issue
1
Pages
3-50
Understanding Multidimensional Tax Systems
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Leslie Robinson
Published Date
04/2012
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Leslie Robinson
Source
International Tax and Public Finance
Volume
19
Issue
2
Pages
237-267
Financial Reporting, Tax, and Real Decisions: A Unifying Framework
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Douglas Shackelford, James M. Sallee
Published Date
11/2011
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Douglas Shackelford, James M. Sallee
Source
International Tax and Public Finance
Volume
18
Issue
4
Pages
461-494
Tax Policy and the Missing Middle: Optimal Tax Remittances with Firm-Level Administrative Costs
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Dhammika Dharmapala, John D. Wilson
Published Date
10/2011
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Dhammika Dharmapala, John D. Wilson
Source
Journal of Public Economics
Volume
95
Issue
9-10
Pages
843-864
Complexity in the Australian Tax and Transfer System
Authors
Joel Slemrod
Published Date
2010
Authors
Joel Slemrod
Source
Melbourne Institute -- Australia's Future Tax and Transfer Policy Conference: Proceedings of a Conference
Pages
257-270
Location, (Real) Location, and Tax (Location): An Essay on the Place of Mobility in Optimal Taxation
Authors
Joel Slemrod
Published Date
12/2010
Authors
Joel Slemrod
Source
National Tax Journal
Volume
63
Issue
4
Pages
843-864
Old George Orwell Got It Backward: Some Thoughts on Behavioral Tax Economics
Authors
Joel Slemrod
Published Date
03/2010
Authors
Joel Slemrod
Source
Finanzarchiv (Public Finance Analysis)
Volume
66
Issue
1
Pages
15-33
Optimal Observability in a Linear Income Tax
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Christian Traxler
Published Date
08/2010
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Christian Traxler
Source
Economics Letters
Volume
108
Issue
2
Pages
105-108
Taxation and the Financial Sector
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Daniel Shaviro, Douglas Shackelford
Published Date
12/2010
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Daniel Shaviro, Douglas Shackelford
Source
National Tax Journal
Volume
63
Issue
4
Pages
709-721
The Distribution of Income Tax Noncompliance
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Andrew Johns
Published Date
09/2010
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Andrew Johns
Source
National Tax Journal
Volume
63
Issue
3
Pages
397-418
The Fatal Toll of Driving to Drink: The Effect of Minimum Legal Drinking Age Evasion on Traffic Fatalities
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Michael Lovenheim
Published Date
01/2010
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Michael Lovenheim
Source
Journal of Health Economics
Volume
29
Issue
1
Pages
62-77
Lessons for Tax Policy and the Great Recession
Authors
Joel Slemrod
Published Date
09/2009
Authors
Joel Slemrod
Source
National Tax Journal
Volume
62
Issue
3
Pages
387-397
Tax Competition with Parasitic Tax Havens
Authors
Joel Slemrod, John D. Wilson
Published Date
12/2009
Authors
Joel Slemrod, John D. Wilson
Source
Journal of Public Economics
Volume
93
Issue
11-12
Pages
1261-1270
Rebellion, Rascals, and Revenue: Tax Follies and Wisdom through the Ages
Authors
Slemrod, J., and Keen, M.
Published Date
04/2021
Authors
Slemrod, J., and Keen, M.
Source
Princeton University Press
Taxes in America: What Everyone Needs to Know, 2nd edition. Audiobook produced by Recorded Books, forthcoming, 2020.
Authors
Slemrod, J. and Burman, L. E.
Published Date
2020
Authors
Slemrod, J. and Burman, L. E.
Source
Oxford University Press
Taxing Ourselves: A Citizen's Guide to the Debate over Taxes, 5th edition
Authors
Slemrod, J. and Bakija, J.
Published Date
2017
Authors
Slemrod, J. and Bakija, J.
Source
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
Taxation and Migration
Authors
Avi-Yonah, R. and Slemrod, J.
Published Date
2015
Authors
Avi-Yonah, R. and Slemrod, J.
Source
Kluwer Press
Tax Systems
Authors
Slemrod, J. and Gillitzer, C.
Published Date
2014
Authors
Slemrod, J. and Gillitzer, C.
Source
MIT Press
978-0-262-02672-7
Taxes in America: What Everyone Needs to Know
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Leonard E. Burman
Published Date
2013
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Leonard E. Burman
Source
Oxford University Press
978-0-19-989027-9
Tax Policy and the Economy, Vol. 33
Authors
Slemrod, J., Hanlon, M., and Hoopes, J.
Published Date
2019
Authors
Slemrod, J., Hanlon, M., and Hoopes, J.
Source
University of Chicago Press and NBER
Tax Reform Made Me Do It!
Moffitt, Robert
The Economics of Tax Policy
Authors
Slemrod, J.
Published Date
2017
Authors
Slemrod, J.
Source
Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press
Tax Compliance and Enforcement: An Overview of New Research and Its Policy Implications
Auerbach, A, Smetters, K.
The Economics of Tax Policy
Authors
Slemrod, J.
Published Date
2017
Authors
Slemrod, J.
Source
Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press
Pages
81-102
Tax Compliance and Enforcement: An Overview of New Research and Its Policy Implications
Auerbach, A, Smetters, K.
Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 24
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Claudia R. Sahm, Matthew D. Shapiro
Published Date
2010
Authors
Joel Slemrod, Claudia R. Sahm, Matthew D. Shapiro
Source
NBER and University of Chicago Press
Pages
69-110
Household Response to the 2008 Tax Rebates: Survey Evidence and Aggregate Implications
Jeffrey R. Brown
Dissertation - Candidacy