Current working papers / selected work in progress:

Timing of School Entry and Personality Traits in Adulthood

with Anton Barabasch and Andreas Leibing (IZA DP No. 17387, invited to R&R at the European Economic Review) 

This paper investigates the long-run consequences of a later school entry for personality traits. For identification, we exploit the statutory cutoff rules for school enrollment in Germany within a regression discontinuity design. We find that relatively older school starters have persistently lower levels of neuroticism in adulthood. This effect is entirely driven by women, which has important implications for gender gaps in the labor market, as women typically score significantly higher on neuroticism at all stages of life, which puts them at a disadvantage. Our results suggest that family decisions regarding compliance with enrollment cutoffs may have lasting implications for gender gaps in socio-emotional skills.

School Starting Age and the Gender Pay Gap over the Life Cycle 

with Matthias Westphal (LIfBi WP No. 118, invited to R&R at the Journal of Applied Econometrics)

In this study, we re-examine the earnings effects of school entry regulations over the life cycle using high-quality administrative data on entire career trajectories from Germany. Compared to the literature, we examine arguably the most rigid system of ability tracking in secondary education, which may be the main driver of long-term effects. We pay special attention to the effect heterogeneity by gender, as specific social norms for the cohorts under study (1945–1965) make differences likely. We find negligible effects of being a relatively older school starter on men's labor market trajectories, confirming previous literature. For women, however, the effects on earnings differ despite similar effects on educational attainment. A significant postponement of first childbirth seems to be a plausible mechanism behind the improved labor market outcomes.

The Untold Story of Internal Migration in Germany: Life-cycle Patterns, Developments, and the Role of Education

with Anton Barabasch, Guido Heineck, and Sebastian Vogler (email me for a draft) 

This paper examines internal migration from a lifetime perspective using unique data on detailed residential biographies of individuals born in Germany between 1944 and 1986. We first describe life-cycle patterns of internal mobility and potential differences across space, time, and socio-demographic groups. We find substantial differences across the life course, with major location changes around important educational decisions and striking differences across groups, especially by educational attainment. We then investigate causality in the substantial education-mobility gradient. For identification, we exploit two policy-induced sources of variation, each shifting towards better education at a different margin of the ability distribution. Using a difference-in-differences and regression discontinuity design, we find no effect of these policies on internal mobility. 

The Long Shadow: Health Effects of Lost Schooling across the Life Cycle

This study investigates the long-term health effects of reduced instructional time during compulsory schooling. I exploit historical shifts in the school year schedule in Germany, which substantially shortened the length of the affected school years without adjusting the mandated curriculum. As a result, learning was shifted out of the classroom, primarily through increased homework. Using administrative data and a difference-in-differences design, I estimate the impact of this policy on health, proxied by the number of sick days over individuals' careers. The results show a significant increase in sick days, particularly for men, suggesting that educational disruptions can have lasting effects on adult health.

The Effects of Universal Screening for Gestational Diabetes on Maternal and Child Health

with Anton Barabasch and Anica Kramer (email me for a draft)

This paper estimates the effects of universal screening for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on maternal and infant health at birth. GDM is the leading cause of excessive fetal growth and can have adverse long-term consequences for both mother and child. We evaluate a policy that introduced a full reimbursement for an oral GDM test by the German Statutory Health Insurance in July 2013, which led to a sharp increase in screening rates among pregnant women by almost 25 percentage points. Applying a difference-in-discontinuities design to administrative data on all hospital births, we find no effects of universal GDM screening on neonatal health and maternal birth outcomes. 

Work from Home and Health-Related Absenteeism

with Jean-Victor Alipour, Katharina Bettig, Christian Leßmann, and Valentin Lindlacher (in cooperation with the bifg)

The Covid-19 pandemic triggered a sudden and lasting shift to work-from-home (WFH) in many occupations. However, we know very little about how WFH affects health-related absenteeism. This paper uses the abrupt expansion of WFH in Germany in March 2020 as a natural experiment to estimate its short- and medium-term effects on sick leave take-up. We exploit pre-pandemic variation in WFH potential across occupations, and link this to administrative data on health care use and diagnoses between 2018 and 2023 from a large statutory health insurer. Using event study and difference-in-differences approaches, we find that higher WFH potential significantly and persistently reduces sickness absenteeism, primarily through reduced short-term sick leave due to minor infections and musculoskeletal problems such as back pain. These findings suggest that sustained WFH adoption can reduce short-term absenteeism, with implications for workplace policy and occupational health strategies.

Work from Home and Labor Market Trajectories in the Long Run

with Alena Bičáková, Klára Kalíšková, and Maike Steffen (supported by the DFG grant no. 531021587)

The Covid-19 pandemic was a severe shock to employers and employees in the form of substantial restrictions on face-to-face meetings, leading to an unexpected increase in work-from-home (WFH) arrangements. This may have affected the way individuals work and the skills they need to successfully adapt to the new working conditions. In this paper, we use the sharp increase in WFH in Germany in March 2020 as a natural experiment to examine its long-term effects on the labor market trajectories and human capital of affected workers. To this end, we combine survey data on the occupational WFH potential of a given job with individual data on labor market biographies from German social security records. Using event studies and a difference-in-difference design, we compare the career trajectories of individuals who held jobs with high and low WFH potential immediately before the pandemic. We pay particular attention to potential gender differences, as the pandemic disproportionately affected parents, especially women.

Ukrainian Refugees, Native Workers, and Firm Performance: Evidence from four Countries 

with Ewa Gałecka-Burdziak, Klára Kalíšková, Tomáš Lichard, Robert Pater, Maike Steffen (supported by the DFG grant no. 531021587)

The Russian invasion of Ukraine resulted in an unprecedented influx of Ukrainian refugees into several Central and Eastern European countries. This created the need to absorb and integrate a substantial number of potential workers into local labor markets. In this paper, we study the impact of Ukrainian refugees on incumbent workers and firms in several heavily affected countries, such as the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, and Slovakia. Specifically, we apply a shift-share instrumental variables design to country-specific datasets that combine administrative data on migrant stocks and flows with registry records on labor market outcomes of incumbent workers and performance measures of their firms. Cross-country comparisons allow us to test the role of specific institutions in shaping responses to the shock.