Denvil R. Duncan, Ph.D.
Professor of Public & Environmental Affairs
O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
I am a Professor of Public Finance at Indiana University. My research focuses on the behavioral effects of tax policy, tax compliance and evasion, transportation revenue mechanisms (road mileage user fees), labor supply responses, and public economics.
Featured Profile in Forbes / Tax Notes State
"The Would-Be Chef Who Found Tax And Economics" — Senior editor Doug Sheppard traces Denvil Duncan's journey from a modest upbringing in Jamaica to becoming a distinguished professor of public finance at Indiana University.
Recent Published Research
Highlights of five most recent published peer-reviewed journal articles in public finance, taxation, and labor economics.
Decentralization, privatization, and firm tax compliance
2025International Tax and Public Finance (Available online)
We examine how fiscal decentralization and state enterprise privatization shape corporate tax compliance dynamics in developing economies.
The role of charitable food assistance during times of crisis
2025Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, 4(1): 118-134
Investigates food assistance safety nets during economic disruptions and evaluates efficiency across charitable logistics networks.
Does the Federal Budget Process Promote Fiscal Sustainability? Evidence from the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990
2025Public Finance Review, 53(1): 29-61
Evaluates long-term impacts of statutory budget rules on fiscal deficits and federal expenditure trajectories in the US.
The (in)visible hand: role of race and sex in job selection decisions
2024Journal of Public Economics, 231 (March)
Conducted a large-scale field experiment assessing implicit bias and systemic barriers in employment matching and labor market entry.
Asymmetric labor-supply responses to wage-rate changes: Evidence from a field experiment
2023Labour Economics, 81 (April)
Demonstrates that wage decreases elicit significantly stronger reductions in labor effort than equal-sized wage increases, particularly on the extensive margin.