Christian Traxler

Christian Traxler is Professor of Economics at the Hertie School in Berlin. He previously held a professorship at the University of Marburg and has held research and visiting positions at the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods (Bonn), the University of Amsterdam, and the Office of Tax Policy Research at the University of Michigan.

His educational background includes studies at the University of Vienna, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, and LMU Munich, where he earned his PhD in Economics in 2006.

Professor Traxler's research focuses on public economics, particularly tax compliance, law enforcement strategies, and the evaluation of conventional and behavioral policy interventions. His work spans several key areas including tax evasion, transportation policy, environmental regulation through low emission zones, and pension systems. He employs rigorous empirical methods, often using field experiments and natural experiments, to evaluate the effectiveness of various policy approaches. His research has significant implications for designing more effective enforcement mechanisms and understanding how behavioral insights can improve policy outcomes in areas ranging from traffic regulation to environmental protection.

His recent publications show a consistent focus on deterrence theory, compliance behavior, and policy evaluation across multiple domains. Traxler frequently examines how the timing and framing of enforcement actions affect compliance, with applications in tax collection, traffic regulation, and environmental policy. His work often incorporates behavioral economics insights to understand how social information, moral appeals, and threat of punishment influence individual behavior.

Professor Traxler has received research grants to study the effects of various policy interventions, including the impact of low emission zones on air pollution and the evaluation of minimum wage and tax reforms. His work on pension systems (the MetallRente studies) has provided valuable insights into youth financial behavior and retirement planning.

He is actively involved in several research initiatives at the Hertie School, including the Berlin Center for Consumer Policies (BCCP) and the Berlin Applied Micro Seminar (BAMS). His research on specific deterrence and the speed of punishment has generated important insights using high-frequency micro data.