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1<link rel="stylesheet" href="/_astro/Base.D_TKt_kx.css"></head><body><header class="site-header"><div class="wrap"><a class="site-name" href="/">Marcel Olbert</a><nav class="main-nav" aria-label="Main navigation"><a href="/" aria-current="page">Home</a><a href="/research/">Research</a><a href="/podcast/">Podcast</a><a href="/teaching/">Teaching</a><a href="/speaking/">Speaking &amp; Policy</a><a href="/media/">Media</a><a href="/events/">Events</a><a href="/data/">Data &amp; Code</a></nav></div></header><main><div class="wrap"><div class="hero"><div><div class="kicker">Professor of Taxation, Accounting, and Finance · University of Mannheim</div><h1>Marcel Olbert</h1><p class="tagline">Research on economic policy and firm behavior, focusing on taxes, disclosure, private equity, and corporate finance decisions.</p><ul class="hero-highlights"><li><a href="https://www.mannheim-business-school.com/de/the-mannheim-experience/faculty-research/cobra-mannheim-center-for-corporate-behavior-and-regulation-analysis/">Founder &amp; Academic Director, COBRA — Mannheim Center for Corporate Behavior and Regulation Analysis</a></li><li><a href="https://poetsandquants.com/2024/05/18/2024-best-40-under-40-mba-professors-marcel-olbert-london-business-school/">Poets&amp;Quants Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors (2024)</a></li><li><a href="https://financialfilings.com/for/academic-research/">Academic Advisor to fintech FINANCIALREPORTS PTE. LTD.</a></li></ul><div class="hero-actions"><a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/prof-of-concept/id6786339773">Podcast</a><a class="btn btn-ghost" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-olbert-4746034a/">LinkedIn</a><a class="btn btn-ghost" href="/assets/cv-marcel-olbert.pdf">CV</a><a class="btn btn-ghost" href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=2490396">SSRN</a></div></div><div class="hero-photo"><img src="/assets/marcel-olbert-portrait.jpg" alt="Marcel Olbert, Professor of Taxation, Accounting, and Finance at University of Mannheim" width="1600" height="1066" fetchpriority="high"></div></div><section><div class="feature-band"><a class="feature-band-media" href="https://www.mannheim-business-school.com/de/the-mannheim-experience/faculty-research/cobra-mannheim-center-for-corporate-behavior-and-regulation-analysis/"><img src="/assets/cobra-launch.jpg" alt="COBRA — Mannheim Center for Corporate Behavior and Regulation Analysis" width="1400" height="933" loading="lazy"></a><div><div class="kicker">Research Center · Founder &amp; Academic Director</div><h2 class="feature-band-title"><a href="https://www.mannheim-business-school.com/de/the-mannheim-experience/faculty-research/cobra-mannheim-center-for-corporate-behavior-and-regulation-analysis/">COBRA — Mannheim Center for Corporate Behavior and Regulation Analysis</a></h2><p class="feature-band-tagline">How policy shapes business, and why it matters.</p><p class="feature-band-text">A leading platform for rigorous, data-driven research on regulation, taxation, financial markets, corporate decision-making, and public policy. COBRA funds research, runs a pre-doctoral program, hosts seminars, conferences, and workshops, and brings the evidence to policymakers, business, and the press.</p><p class="feature-band-links"><a href="https://www.mannheim-business-school.com/de/the-mannheim-experience/faculty-research/cobra-mannheim-center-for-corporate-behavior-and-regulation-analysis/">Visit COBRA →</a> · <a href="https://www.mannheim-business-school.com/de/the-mannheim-experience/faculty-research/cobra-mannheim-center-for-corporate-behavior-and-regulation-analysis/cobra-events/">Events</a> · <a href="/events/">Events I host</a></p></div></div></section><section><h2>Latest</h2><div class="news-item"><div class="news-date">February 2027</div><div>Save the date: on 23 February 2027 we publicly launch COBRA, the Mannheim Research Center for Corporate Behavior and Regulation Analysis, with an evening event in the Aula of the University of Mannheim on the question “Economic Miracle 2.0? How much regulation does Germany need amid geopolitical realignment and technological disruption?” With Sebastian Matthes (Editor-in-Chief, Handelsblatt), Danyal Bayaz (Finance Minister of Baden-Württemberg), Julia Stadler (Co-CEO, Stadler Anlagenbau) and Annika Maldener (Managing Director, CVC Capital Partners). Held in German; formal invitations follow in the autumn. <a href="/events/">Programme &amp; speakers</a></div></div><div class="news-item"><div class="news-date">September 2026</div><div>On 29 September I am moderating the MaFAT annual panel “Germany in Search of Growth: What Can Private Equity Contribute?” at the University of Mannheim, with Dr. Ralf U. Braunagel (PwC Deutschland) and Cornelius Becker (independent investor). 17:30, room SN 163, open to all, held in German. <a href="https://www.bwl.uni-mannheim.de/mafat/httpswwwbwluni-mannheimdenewswir-brauchen-einen-neuen-steuermix/detail/mafat-jahresveranstaltung-deutschland-auf-der-suche-nach-wachstum-2/">Event details</a></div></div><div class="news-item"><div class="news-date">September 2026</div><div>Run with your Prof – Tax Run Club 2026: 5 km durch Mannheim mit Christoph Spengel und mir, danach Get-together im Café EO mit DJ Jelly, Freigetränken und Merch. 23. September, 17:30 Uhr, Start am Ehrenhof der Universität Mannheim. Ein Event des MaFAT Student Club, ermöglicht von MaFAT e.V., COBRA und KPMG Mannheim. <a href="/events/">Events</a></div></div><div class="news-item"><div class="news-date">August 2026</div><div>Invited speaker at the Stanford Accounting Summer Camp, Stanford Graduate School of Business, presenting work on deferred taxes at US banks to around 90 participants, mostly faculty from leading US universities: how the write-down of deferred tax assets following the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act affected lending to mid-sized US firms. The analysis draws on financialfilings.com, a database newly acquired by our Accounting and Taxation Area and COBRA, which makes near real-time text analysis of listed companies’ reporting possible. Matti Boie-Wegener, postdoc in my team, was also invited. <a href="https://financialfilings.com">financialfilings.com</a></div></div><div class="news-item"><div class="news-date">July 2026</div><div>New open resource — Measuring Tax Effects, an interactive guide to 84+ measures and 51 data sources for tax research, with Rebecca Lester (Stanford GSB). Companion to our Journal of Accounting and Economics review. <a href="https://www.measuringtaxeffects.c

1om/">measuringtaxeffects.com</a></div></div><div class="news-item"><div class="news-date">June 2026</div><div>Named to the Journal of Accounting Research Excellence in Refereeing List 2025, recognizing outstanding peer-review contributions to a leading accounting journal. <a href="https://www.bwl.uni-mannheim.de/en/details/prof-marcel-olbert-in-der-excellence-in-refereeing-liste-2025-des-journal-of-accounting-research-vertreten/">University of Mannheim</a> · <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1475679x">Journal of Accounting Research</a></div></div><p class="follow-line">Follow me on LinkedIn for research insights, op-eds, and commentary on economic policy and other current topics. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-olbert-4746034a/">Follow on LinkedIn →</a></p></section><section><div class="podcast-band"><a href="/podcast/" class="podcast-cover"><img src="/assets/prof-of-concept-cover.jpg" alt="Prof of Concept podcast cover" width="1200" height="1200" loading="lazy"></a><div><div class="kicker">Podcast · Wirtschaftspolitik für Hyperformer</div><h2 class="podcast-band-title"><a href="/podcast/">Prof of Concept</a></h2><p class="podcast-band-blurb">My German-language podcast on economic policy: together with my co-host Christoph Wieland, I take apart the issues from A to Z — scientifically grounded, facts first, and with the necessary dose of humor. Like an MBA in podcast form, only more entertaining and without the exams.</p><p class="podcast-latest"><strong>Latest episode:</strong> <span lang="de">Startups: Der Schlüssel zum Wachstum</span><br>Listen on <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/prof-of-concept/episodes/Startups-Der-Schlssel-zum-Wachstum-e3pha0c">Spotify</a> · <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTiK8Mo94XE">YouTube</a> · <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/prof-of-concept/id6786339773">Apple Podcasts</a> · <a href="/podcast/">All episodes →</a></p></div></div></section><section><h2>Selected publications</h2><article class="pub"><div class="pub-title"><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacceco.2025.101837">Firms&#39; Real and Reporting Responses to Taxation: A Review</a></div><div class="pub-meta">with Rebecca Lester · <em>Journal of Accounting and Economics</em>, 2025 · <a href="https://www.measuringtaxeffects.com/">Interactive measurement guide</a></div><details><summary>Abstract</summary><p>Taxation is a central economic policy tool, with governments increasingly using tax policy to stimulate local economic growth and also regulate multinational firms. We review the empirical literature that studies the effect of tax policies on firms&#39; investment, employment, and other real outcomes. Building on the neoclassical theory of corporate taxes and tangible investment, we propose an organizing framework for our review that captures the wide set of tax policies and firm responses examined in accounting research. This framework highlights four dimensions along which accounting scholars contribute to the literature: (i) documenting the role of financial reporting incentives as a moderating factor in firms&#39; real responses, (ii) studying firms&#39; reporting versus real responses, (iii) quantifying real effects of tax disclosure regulations, and (iv) improving measurement of firms&#39; tax status and proxies for investment and employment. We identify open questions for future research and suggest new international, federal, and local settings that may help uncover underlying mechanisms driving observed economic phenomena. Specifically, we encourage scholars to further distinguish firms&#39; reported and real responses to tax changes and improve measurement of these outcomes, especially in settings related to environmental taxation or settings in which tax avoidance and real outcomes are closely linked.</p></details></article><article class="pub"><div class="pub-title"><a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4265171">ESG Disclosures in the Private Equity Industry</a></div><div class="pub-meta">with Jefferson Abraham, Florin Vasvari · <em>Journal of Accounting Research</em>, 2024</div><details><summary>Abstract</summary><p>This paper offers the first systematic evidence on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures provided by a large global sample of private equity (PE) firms. Using historical websites from 2000 to 2022, we develop and validate a novel dictionary-based measure of voluntary PE firm ESG disclosures. Descriptive statistics reveal an increasing time trend in these disclosures, with social topics becoming as important as environmental topics recently. Multivariate analyses show that the demand for ESG information from fund investors is a significant determinant of PE firms&#39; ESG disclosures. Leveraging data on PE firms&#39; portfolio companies, we document that more PE firm ESG disclosures are associated with better ESG outcomes at the portfolio company level, suggesting that voluntary ESG disclosures align with real actions for the average PE firm.</p></details></article><article class="pub"><div class="pub-title"><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhad038">Measuring the Expected Effects of the Global Tax Reform</a></div><div class="pub-meta">with Roberto Gomez-Cram · <em>Review of Financial Studies</em>, 2023</div><details><summary>Abstract</summary><p>Over 140 countries agreed on a fundamental corporate tax reform in 2021 to be implemented in 2023 and beyond. To measure its potential effects, we study asset price changes within minutes of the reform announcements. We construct proxies for the reform&#39;s costs regarding U.S. companies&#39; tax burdens and countries&#39; public finances. Likely exposed companies exhibit significant negative stock returns. Our lower-bound estimates indicate total shareholder value losses of $112.6 billion one day after the reform announcements. Further, likely exposed countries experience increases in sovereign debt credit risk. Our findings inform the cost-benefit analysis of a historical international tax reform.</p></details></article><article class="pub"><div class="pub-title"><a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3398116">Real Effects of Private Country-by-Country Disclosure</a></div><div class="pub-meta">with Lisa De Simone · <em>The Accounting Review</em>, 2022</div><details><summary>Abstract</summary><p>We investigate the effects of mandatory private Country-by-Country Reporting (CbCR) to European tax authorities on multinational firms&#39; capital and labor investments, as well as their organizational structures. We exploit the threshold-based application of this 2016 disclosure rule to conduct difference-in-differences and regression discontinuity tests. We document increases in capital and labor expenditures in Europe, but these effects are more pronounced in countries with preferential tax regimes. Cross-sectional tests and analysis using consolidated financial data provide evidence consistent with multinational firms reallocating capital across Europe to mitigate increased tax enforcement risk, as well as with CbCR hindering capital investment efficiency. We also find evidence consistent with firms responding to CbCR by reducing organizational complexity. Collectively, our results support the conclusion that mandatory private CbCR causes firms to change real investment activities to substantiate their tax avoidance activities in 

1Europe while reducing the appearance of aggressive tax practices.</p></details></article><p style="margin-top: 1rem;"><a href="/research/">All publications and working papers →</a></p></section><section><h2>Roles &amp; affiliations</h2><ul style="margin-left: 1.1rem;"><li>Founder &amp; Academic Director, COBRA — Mannheim Center for Corporate Behavior and Regulation Analysis</li><li>Editorial Board, The Accounting Review</li><li>Associate Editor, European Accounting Review</li><li>Junior Research Associate, ZEW — Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research</li><li>Research Fellow, TRR 266 Accounting for Transparency</li></ul><p style="margin-top: 0.8rem; color: var(--muted);">Research grants from the NBER, the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development, and the ITPF.</p></section></div></main><footer class="site-footer"><div class="wrap"><div>© 2026 Marcel Olbert · Professor of Taxation, Accounting, and Finance, <a href="https://www.uni-mannheim.de/en/">University of Mannheim</a></div><div><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-olbert-4746034a/">LinkedIn</a> · <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=2490396">SSRN</a> · <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=d-ki44UAAAAJ&amp;hl=en">Google Scholar</a> · <a href="/assets/cv-marcel-olbert.pdf">CV</a> · <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Email</a> · <a href="/disclosure/">Disclosure</a> · <a href="/impressum/">Impressum</a> · <a href="/datenschutz/">Datenschutz</a></div></div></footer></body></html>