DrKarl Matikonis

I am an Assistant Professor of Taxation at University College Dublin. My research investigates how fiscal legislation shapes economic behaviour, investment incentives and distributional outcomes, with particular emphasis on windfall taxation, energy levies, SME policy and institutional reform. By integrating doctrinal tax analysis with empirical evaluation using administrative data, econometrics and machine learning, I advance a research agenda centred on the institutional design and real-economy consequences of fiscal intervention.

My work has been published in specialist and international journals including British Tax Review, European Taxation, Small Business Economics, European Management Review and International Small Business Journal. Across 50+ outputs, including 20+ papers (15+ ABS3) in peer-reviewed journals, alongside conference presentations, policy reports and public engagement, I have developed a sustained body of research bridging legal design and quantitative analysis. This work engages core debates on fiscal capacity, investment certainty and the governance of economic transition, and has informed policy and parliamentary scrutiny, including citation and quotation in UK Parliament research briefings and use in professional evidence submitted to HM Treasury. My research also reach wider audiences through articles and expert commentary across media outlets and public-facing platforms, including the BBC, The Conversation and Economics Observatory.

I have secured competitive external funding as Principal Investigator from the UK Economic and Social Research Council and have led projects involving secure administrative data partnerships with government statistical agencies, contributing to interdisciplinary research on fiscal policy and data-driven public governance.

I serve as Director and Board Member of the Tax Research Network and as a Geary Fellow at the UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy. I am also a professionally qualified accountant, with previous academic appointments at Queen’s University Belfast and Manchester Metropolitan University and experience at HM Revenue & Customs.