Paul Bernd Spahn


Paul Bernd Spahn is emeritus professor of public finance at the Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
He was born in Darmstadt, Germany.
Spahn obtained his doctoral degree in Economics from the Free University of Berlin and has worked at various institutions such as Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Australian National University in Canberra, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris.
After his retirement in 2005, he served as Macro Fiscal Advisor to the Minister of Finance and Treasury of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and became the founding Executive Director of the House of Finance of Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main. He was also a member of the Independent Commission on Funding and Finance for Wales in the United Kingdom.
He also holds or held consultancies with numerous research institutes in Europe and overseas. He has worked with international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the United Nations, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the European Commission, and the Council of Europe.
Spahn is the author of a study "On the feasibility of a Currency Transaction Tax", which has gained widespread attention. Its proposal, the Spahn tax, is a modification of the Tobin tax. Spahn has modified James Tobin's suggestion to have two tiers. There would be a low rate for normal currency exchange and a higher normalization duty that would kick in during periods of high currency volatility.

Writings (selection)