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.