Professor Skåtun specialises in models of the labour market. He has also worked within health economics where he has been especially interested in the economics of epidemiology. Whilst he is primarily a micro-theorist his work has a strong policy focus and has with several co-authors published empirical articles on issues within labour economics. In addition to working at the University of Aberdeen, he has held a previous position at the University of Exeter and a visiting post at the University of Paris II.