Research

Research Interests

Macroeconomics, behavioral macroeconomics, cultural economics, network economics, household finance, homeownership.

My research investigates the decision-making of economic agents on the micro-level and the resulting implications for the macroeconomy, using primarily survey methods.

Work in Progress

Inflation Expectations and Durable Consumption: New Evidence during High- vs. Low-Inflation Periods

with Tiziana Assenza, Stefanie Huber and Tobias Schmidt

This paper examines the relationship between inflation expectations and consumer spending in low- and high-inflation environments. We find that the effect of short-term inflation expectations on planned spending is twice as large in a high-inflation environment compared to a low-inflation environment, even when controlling for expected income changes. However, inflation expectations do not significantly affect current spending, regardless of the inflation environment. We also investigate the role of individual uncertainty about future inflation and show that uncertainty determines intertemporal decision-making. The absolute marginal effect of individual uncertainty is smaller during high- compared to low-inflation periods. These results suggest that other channels, such as increased attention to inflation in high-inflation environments, affect the relation between inflation expectations and spending decisions.

Recent Developments in the German Labor Market: Hours worked, Reshuffle, Resignation, Long-Covid 

with Tiziana Assenza and Stefanie Huber

Recent reports suggest that the labor supply decreased drastically compared to pre-pandemic. This project will investigate how workers’ labor supply has changed since the pandemic’s onset and the underlying reasons for these changes. Individuals may alter/reduce their labor supply patterns for several reasons, e.g., due to (i) continued disruptive childcare/schooling, (ii) incapacity due to Long-Covid, or because the pandemic has permanently altered their (iii) preferences governing the trade-off between working hours (i.e., consumption) and leisure, or (iv) their job preferences for flexibility. Effective policy-making requires knowledge of what motivations are underlying observed changes in labor supply behavior, as the differing underlying motivations would each require very different policy responses. This project’s second objective addresses how to decrease the labor supply shortage in Germany. Empirical evidence shows that the employed skilled workers have significantly decreased their working hours since the onset of the pandemic, and the average number of hours worked by the employed remains below pre-pandemic levels. Conducting a survey experiment (with various treatments), we aim to find sector-specific solutions. We will investigate how firms could increase their current part-time employees’ labor market participation (hours worked). In addition, we explore with an experiment what keeps skilled workers in the "hidden reserve" and how to incentivize them to join the labor force.