Toon Van Overbeke

Toon Van Overbeke is Assistant Professor of Europe, Climate and Digital Society at Maastricht University. His research explores how fiscal regimes and institutional arrangements shape technological change and the future of work. He has published widely on automation, market governance, and structural transformations in European economies, and his work has informed EU policy debates. Toon holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and in 2024 he was awarded the Charlemagne Prize Fellowship for his work on understanding technological change.

The project

Title: Governing Automation Through Taxation: Explaining Diverging Fiscal Strategies in Advanced Democracies

"This research project investigates the political and institutional factors shaping tax policy in the age of automation. As automation technologies like AI and robotics spread, governments have responded differently—some encouraging automation through tax incentives, others imposing constraints. The study focuses on advanced democracies and asks how tax regimes influence automation by altering incentives for firms and workers. It adopts a mixed-methods approach over three phases: creating a novel dataset on effective tax rates across EU countries (1990–present), analyzing firm- and sector-level investment patterns, and identifying the political drivers behind fiscal strategies through case studies and quantitative modeling. A key component is a residency at Maison Suger in Paris, which will support empirical analysis and stakeholder engagement. Challenges include data limitations and access to policymakers, but the project aims to produce peer-reviewed articles, a public dataset, and policy-relevant insights. Overall, it seeks to advance understanding of how democratic states govern technological change through fiscal tools."

Hosting Institution: Sciences Po 

Selective Bibliography

• Bob Hancké, Van Overbeke, Toon and Voss, Dustin. 2025. Understanding Political Economy: Capitalism, Democracy and Inequality. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
• Van Overbeke, T. (2024). It’s the robots, stupid? Automation risk, labour market resources and incumbent support in Europe. Research & Politics, 11(1)
• Van Overbeke, Toon. 2023. Conflict or cooperation? Exploring the relationship between cooperative institutions and robotisation. British Journal of Industrial Relations 61(3): 550-573
• Bob Hancké, Van Overbeke, Toon and Voss, Dustin. 2023. Crisis and Complementarities: A Comparative Political Economy of Economic Policies after COVID-19. Perspectives on Politics 20(2): 474 – 489.