Kenneth Tester, Tax Administration Research Centre (TARC), University of Exeter

Kenneth Tester is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Tax Administration Research Centre (TARC) at the University of Exeter. He previously obtained a BA in Economics at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis and an MS and PhD at the University of Kentucky. Before joining TARC, he worked as a Research Assistant for University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research and the Center for Business and Economic Research. 

His main research area is the effects of regional tax policy on the behaviour of individuals. Specifically, looking at how high-income earners respond to employment-based taxes, the effects of geographically differentiated tax bases, and how place-based policies impact the economic wellbeing of households. Other ongoing work looks at the impact of negative vertical fiscal externalities on housing markets in the United States.  

Kenneth has additional research interests in tax administration, looking at avoidance and evasion responses to administrative features and deterrence measures.  He has presented his work at various departments and conferences including the Office of Tax Analysis, USDA Economic Research Service, University of Kentucky, Symposium for Public Economics, Annual Meeting of the National Tax Association, Congress of the International Institute for Public Finance and Mannheim Taxation Conference