Dr. Pranvera Shehaj

Research Associate (Post-Doc)
Room 206
14195 Berlin
Office hours
By appointment
Personal data
Born in Vlore, Albania
Academic qualifications
2019 – 2022: PhD in International Business Taxation, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, in Vienna, Austria
2016 – 2018: M.Sc. in Economics and Political Science, University of Milan – La Statale, in Milan, Italy
2013 – 2016: B.Sc. in International Studies (Political Science and International Relations), University of Trento, in Trento, Italy
Academic Distinctions
- Research award for an outstanding dissertation (2022), Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien
- Honour and Merit Award Edition 2016, University of Trento
Previous positions
May 2022 – Sept. 2022: Project Research Executive
- Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Vienna, Austria
- International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD), Brighton, United Kingdom
Sept. 2019 – May 2022: Research Associate
- Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Vienna, Austria
- Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law, Vienna, Austria
Oct. 2018 – Jul. 2019: Assistant Professor
- European University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania
Other positions:
Non-academic professional job positions in the job market, such as marketing and sales consultancy (2014-2018 in Milan), and tax consultancy with focus on Transfer Pricing and Corporate Tax (2022-2023 in Vienna)
Present position:
Postdoctoral research associate as of November 1st, 2023, in the Chair of Public Finance, Freie Universität Berlin
Summer Term 2025
Lectures
- Optimal Taxation (Master)
Tutorials
- Optimal Taxation (Master)
Seminars
- Research Topics in International (Business) Taxation (Master)
Winter Term 2024/25
Lectures
- Economics of the Welfare State (Master)
Tutorials
- Economics of the Welfare State (Master)
Summer Term 2024
Lectures
- Economics of Taxation (Bachelor)
- Optimal Taxation (Master)
Tutorials
- Optimal Taxation (Master)
Areas of interest
International Economics
- International Investments
- International factor movements and international business
- International Agreements and Observance
Public Economics
- Business Taxes and Subsidies
- Tax evasion and avoidance
- Tax incidence
- Interjurisdictional differentials and their effects
Industrial Organization
- Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
Law and Economics
- Tax Law
Presentations in international conferences and workshops
2025
June 2025 - Milan, Italy
The 7 th International Conference on European Economics and Politics, University of Milano-Bicocca.
2024
August 2024 - Prague, Czech Republic
The 80 th Annual Congress of the International Institute of Public Finance. Prague University of´Economics and Business.
May 2024 - London, United Kingdom
The 2024 RCEA International Conference in Economics, Econometrics, and Finance. Brunel University London UK.
February 2024 - Berlin, Germany
Inner guest in the PhD Winter School 2024, Freie Universität Berlin.
February 2024 - Berlin, Germany
“Öffentliche Finanzen und Politische Ökonomie X”, Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance.
2023
November 2023 - Berlin, Germany
Research Seminar in Economics, School of Business and Economics, Freie Universität Berlin.
Accepted but not attended:
2023 Annual Congress of International Institute of Public Finance (IIPF), Utah, United States.
2022
August 2022 - Linz, Austria
78th Annual Congress of the International Institute of Public Finance University of Linz, Austria.
June 2022 - Milan, Italy
4 th International Conference on European Studies. Cef-ES – DEMS University of Milan-Bicocca, jointly organized by the Network of European Studies.
May 2022 - Mannheim, Germany
2022 ZEW Public Finance Conference: Government and Innovation. ZEW Mannheim.
March 2022 - Sevilla, Spain
JRC – Seville Fiscal Policy Modelling Workshop. European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC-Seville).
February 2022 - Reus, Spain
10 th PhD Workshop in Industrial Organization and Public Economics. Research Centre on Economics and Sustainability (ECO-SOS).
2021
December 2021 - Vienna, Austria
Internal Research Seminar in Economics, Department of Economics, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
November 2021 - Brighton, United Kingdom
Workshop: Tax Treaties and lower-income countries: designing a research agenda. International Centre for Tax and Development.
September 2021 - Oxford, United Kingdom
Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation Doctoral Conference.
September 2021 - Mannheim, Germany
Eight Annual Mannheim Taxation Conference. Leibniz – Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW).
2019
March 2019 - Tirana, Albania
Albanian Studies Days. European University of Tirana.
Publications
(1) Shehaj, P., & Zagler, M. (2024). Asymmetric Double Tax Treaties: Relief Method and Tax Sparing for Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries. Public Finance Review, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/10911421241247241
(2) Shehaj, P., Weichenrieder, A.J. Corporate income tax, IP boxes and the location of R&D. Int Tax Public Finance (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-023-09812-x
(3) Shehaj, P., Zagler, M. Motor Vehicle Registration Taxes (MVRT) across EU countries: MNEs’ profitability and the role of market concentration. Eur J Law Econ 56, 155–198 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10657-023-09775-8
(4) Shehaj, Pranvera. (2021). The Alignment of Albania's Legislation with the EU Acquis: The Taxation of Cross-border Profit Distributions. European Taxation Journal v. 61, n. 2/3, 2021.
(5) Shehaj, Pranvera. (2020). The EU parent-subsidiary directive and the taxation of profits in Albania: blueprints for convergence. Diritto e Pratica Tributaria Internazionale. XVII (2), 627673. 2.
Working papers
(1) Shehaj, Pranvera (2022). Withholding taxes on dividends in developing countries: relief method and tax sparing in tax treaties with OECD member states. WU International Taxation Research Paper Series. Available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4184615.
Ongoing projects
(1) Shehaj (2025). Tax treaty provisions and investments in developing dountries: Firm-level evidence on the Extensive and Intensive margins.