Catherine van der List

I am a Lecturer (equivalent to Assistant Professor) in Economics at the University of Essex & a research affiliate at IZA. I earned my PhD from the University of British Columbia in 2023. 

My research interests lie in labor, urban, and public economics with a particular focus on agglomeration economies, imperfect local labor markets, and place-based policies. 

CV

Email: catherine.vanderlist@essex.ac.uk

Working Papers: 

"How do Establishments Choose their Location? Taxes, Monopsony, and Productivity" Job market paper

Abstract: To study the distribution of economic activity across space and the effects of place-based policies, I develop a model of the location choice of new establishments incorporating taxes, monopsonistic labor markets, and spillovers. Estimates using administrative data from Germany indicate that establishments generally have a preference for lower taxes, as well a preference for lower worker outside options which enable establishments to pay lower wages. The degree to which various types of productivity spillovers matter in the location decision of establishments varies greatly between industrial sectors. I also quantify the effects of a counterfactual place-based policy and find that commuting zones display highly heterogeneous wage and economic activity responses to the same policy due to differing degrees of labor market power across space.

Publications: 

"Cyclical and Market Determinants of Involuntary Part-Time Employment" with Robert G. Valletta and Leila Bengali. Journal of Labor Economics, January 2020. 

Works in Progress: 

"Reshaping the Economy? Place-Based Policies and Regional Reallocation" with Sarah Fritz (draft available on request)

"Green Industrial Policy: Identifying Local Winners of Place-Neutral Interventions" with Michel Serafinelli