Merike Kukk Curriculum Vitae

Senior Economist, Ph.D.
E-post: Merike.Kukk@eestipank.ee

Research topics:

Household consumption, saving and borrowing
Household tax behaviour
Housing market, determinants of house prices
Non-performing loans of the banking sector

Education:

2016 — Ph.D. in Economics, Tallinn University of Technology
2004 — MA in Business Administration, Tallinn University of Technology
1999 — BA in Economics, University of Tartu

Work experience:

2016 – Bank of Estonia, Economics and Research Department, Economist (0.6)
2016 – Tallinn University of Technology, Department of Finance and Economics, Associate Professor (part-time)
2013, 2015 Bank of Estonia, Economics and Research Department, Visiting Researcher (part-time)
2012-2016 Tallinn University of Technology, Department of Finance and Economics, Researcher
2005-2008 SEB, Marketing and PR division, Deputy Head
2000-2004 SEB, Marketing and PR division, Project Manager

Main publications:

• What are the triggers for arrears on debt over a business cycle? Evidence from panel data, forthcoming 2021, author Merike Kukk. International Journal of Finance and Economics.

• House price misalignments and economic growth in Europe, 2021, authors Juan Carlos Cuestas, Merike Kukk and Natalia Levenko. Working Papers of Eesti Pank, No. 1/2021.

• What explains the gender gap in wealth? Evidence from administrative data, 2021, authors Jaanika Meriküll, Merike Kukk and Tairi Rõõm. Review of Economics of the Household.

• The interaction between housing prices and housing credit: evidence from a country with rapid credit accumulation, 2020, authors Juan Calos Cuestas and Merike Kukk. Journal of Economic Studies.

• Cheating in Europe: underreporting of self-employment income in comparative perspective, 2020, authors Merike Kukk, Alari Paulus and Karsten Staehr. International Tax and Public Finance, Vol. 27, pp. 363-390.

• The Spanish housing market: is it fundamentally broken?, 2020, authors Juan Carlos Cuestas Olivares and  Merike Kukk. Applied Economics Letters, Vol. 27, No. 15, pp. 1295-1299.

• The gender wealth gap in Europe: A comparative study using a model averaging methodology, 2020, authors Merike Kukk, Jaanika Meriküll and Tairi Rõõm. Working Papers of Eesti Pank, No. 7/2020.

• Alternative financing and the non-performing loans of the corporate sector in Estonia, 2020, authors Merike Kukk and Natalia Levenko. Working Papers of Eesti Pank, No. 6/2020.

• Joint and individual savings within families: evidence from bank accounts, 2020, authors Merike Kukk and W. Fred van Raaij. Working Papers of Eesti Pank, No. 1/2020.

• Debt repayment problems: short-term and long-term implications for spending, 2019, author Merike Kukk. Review of Economics of the Household, Vol. 17, pp. 715-740.

• Macroeconomic imbalances and loan quality in panels of European countries, 2019, authors Merike Kukk and Natalia Levenko. Working Papers of Eesti Pank, No. 6/2019.

• Macroeconomic Factors in the Dynamics of Corporate and Household Saving. Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe, 2017, authors Merike Kukk and Karsten Staehr. Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Vol. 53, No. 11, pp. 2585–2608.

• Identification of Households Prone to Income Underreporting: Employment Status or Reported Business Income?, 2017, authors Merike Kukk and Karsten Staehr. Public Finance Review, Vol. 45, No. 5, pp. 599–627.
• How does household debt affect financial asset holdings? Evidence from euro area countries, 2017, author Merike Kukk. Studies in Economics and Finance, Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 194-212.
• How Did Household Indebtedness Hamper Consumption during the Recession? Evidence from Micro Data, 2016, author Merike Kukk. Journal of Comparative Economics, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 764-786.
• Estimating Consumption Responses to Income Shocks of Different Persistence Using Self-Reported Income Measures, 2016, authors Merike Kukk, Dmitry Kulikov and Karsten Staehr.  Review of Income and Wealth, Vol. 62, No. 2, pp. 311-333.
• Income Underreporting by Households with Business Income. Evidence from Estonia, 2014, authors Merike Kukk and Karsten Staehr. Post-Communist Economies, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 257-276.