Martin Halla // applied microeconometrics
WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business)
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I am an applied microeconometrician working at the intersection of family, labor, and health economics. My research studies these core areas of life not as separate domains, but as interconnected choice environments that evolve over time and across generations.
Currently, my main affiliations are:
Professor of Economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) in Austria.
Permanent Scientific Consultant at the Austrian National Public Health Institute (GÖG) in Vienna.
Research Fellow at the Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin)
Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn.
Associate at the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO) in Vienna.
On this website you will find information about my research, teaching, and knowledge transfer activities.
Here is a link to my Curriculum vitae.
Research statement
Rather than treating family, labor, and health economics as separate domains, my research studies them as interconnected choice environments that evolve over the life cycle and across generations. Decisions experienced as deeply personal—when to work, whom to live with, how many children to have, or how long to remain healthy—reflect systematic differences in prices, opportunities, and risks created by institutions, policies, and inherited economic conditions. These mechanisms also speak directly to core questions in demography.
In my research, I rely on large-scale data and a combination of quasi-experimental designs and field experiments to achieve credible causal identification. This enables me to distinguish correlation from causality, identify underlying mechanisms, and assess how policy interventions shape behavior and life trajectories.
A central pillar of my recent work focuses on intergenerational mobility. I examine how family environments, economic resources, and institutional settings shape life chances, and how advantages and disadvantages are transmitted from parents to children through education, labor market outcomes, health, and social behavior.
Alongside this agenda, I also work periodically on tax evasion and political economy, and increasingly use historical settings—such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the interwar period—to study how institutional change and political shocks affect behavior over the long run.
Funded research projects:
Funded research projects:
OeNB Project „Are the Alps a Land of Opportunity?”
FWF Project: "Economic Consequence of the Option Agreement in South Tyrol"
Other research related affiliations:
I am member of the scientific advisory board of the Austrian Socio-Economic Panel (ASEP).
I am a member of three Standing Field Committees of the Verein für Socialpolitik:
Editorial work:
I am Co-Editor of Empirica. This is the official journal of the Nationalökonomische Gesellschaft (Austrian Economic Association). Please note that we solicit descriptive papers on current or unexplored topics. Better a good descriptive paper than a bad causal analysis!
Media
Media
Column
I regularly write a column entitled "Understanding the Economy" (in German "Wirtschaft Verstehen") in the Oberösterreichische Nachrichten (OÖN):
Macht Geld glücklich? — 23.12.25 (link)
Religion im Wettbewerb — 25.11.25 (link)
Wahlärzte: Symptom falscher Steuerung — 28.10.25 (link)
Mehr Hausärzte staat lerrer Versprechen — 30.09.25 (link)
Wenn Moral Knappheit schafft — 02.09.25 (link)
Vermögen: Arbeit schlägt im Schnitt Erbe — 29.07.25 (link)
Familie unter Konkurrenzdruck — 08.07.25 (link)
Von Gutenberg zur Seifenoper — 10.06.25 (link)
Warum geben wir Trinkgeld? — 06.05.25 (link)
Ungezählte Schwangerschaftsabbrüche — 15.04.25 (link)
Die progressive Nationalbank — 18.03.25 (link)
Gender Pay Gap: Familienangelegenheit? — 18.02.25 (link)
“Der Preis der Likes ”— 21.02.25 (link)
“Macht uns die Abnehmspritze gesünder? ”— 24.12.24 (link)
"Benachteiligt unsere Schule Burschen?" — 26.11.24 (link)
"Gemeinsame Schule für bessere Bildung?"— 28.10.24 (link)
"Migration und Wahlergebnisse" — 01.10.24 (link)
"Wie Tinder & Co funktionieren'' — 27.08.24 (link)
"Der Staat beeinflusst Kinderbetreuung'' — 06.08.24 (link)
"Gulasch und Aktie'' — 09.07.24 (link)
Irregular Op-Eds & other recent media coverage
, Der <<American Dream>> ist in Österreich zu Hause (in Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 10.11.2025)
Die hohen Kosten von Lockdowns (in Der Pragmaticus, Dossier: Corona-Pandemie, 31.01.2025)
Stabile Einkommensungleichheit trotz dynamischer Arbeitsmarktveränderungen in Österreich, with Andrea Weber (in Die Presse 24.06.2024)
Österreichs Pensionssystem: Teure Ideologie (in Der Pragmaticus 14.06.24)
Österreichs Politik gibt viel zu gerne Geld aus (in DerStandard, 15.04.2024)
Österreichs fatale Corona-Bilanz (in Der Pragmaticus 07.12.22)
Die Gründe des Fachkräftemangels (in Der Pragmaticus, 07.10.22)
Recent research output
Recent research output
A recent paper accepted:
"How Does Parental Divorce Affect Children's Long-Term Outcomes?" , with Wolfgang Frimmel and Rudolf Winter-Ebmer: accepted at the Journal of Public Economics.
Recent working papers:
"Intergenerational Mobility of Immigrants in 15 Destination Countries", I am one of 38 authors, link, R&R at AER.
"The Parenthood Penalty in Mental Health: Evidence from Austria and Denmark?" , with Alexander Ahammer (JKU), Ulrich Glogowsky (JKU), and Timo Hener (Aarhus U), link, R&R at JEEA.
Recent presentations:
Probleme und Herausforderungen im österreichischen Gesundheitssystem: Eine ökonomische Einordnung
Nutzung von Wahlärzt:innen (präsentiert beim AMDC & ASEP Nutzerinnen- und Nutzerkonferenz)
Familienökonomie: Scheidung der Eltern und langfristige Entwicklung der Kinder
MSc Economics Specialization - Info Session on Specializations
Reintegrating Older Long-Term Unemployed Workers: The Impact of Temporary Job Guarantees
"More Bad News for Mothers: The Child Penalty in Mental Health", joint with Alexander Ahammer (U Linz), Ulrich Glogowsky (U Linz), and Timo Hener (Aarhus University): Slides, Flash-talk, Slides-AASLE
Keynote at NOeG 2020: "How Did Administrative Data Change Economic Research Output – A Descriptive Analysis"
Contact
Contact
WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business), Department of Economics, Welthandelsplatz 1, 1020 Vienna, Austria, mhalla@wu.ac.at.
My office is located in building D4 (1st floor, room D4.1.012). To reach my office, please enter the department through the reception on the 2nd floor. Alternatively, you can come directly to the door on the 1st floor and give me a call. I’ll be happy to come and open the door for you.
Elsewhere on the web:
Google Sites
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