Research

Working Papers

• The Mental Burden of Anticipating Job Loss

Abstract: Mandatory layoff notice policies are intended to reduce the adverse consequences of job loss, but may unintentionally induce psychological distress. Leveraging exposure to future job termination, I show that workers’ awareness of an impending job loss harms mental health. While perceived job insecurity rises 12 months before termination, mental health declines only once mandatory notice laws turn uncertain beliefs into certain information. This effect is strongest if the expected income loss is large and labor demand low. Within-couple spillovers are absent. These adverse effects of advance notice stand in contrast to potential health and economic benefits in the long run.

• Supply Constraints and Negative Selection: Evidence from Mental Healthcare Markets (with Christoph Kronenberg)

Presented at: LSE/CEP Wellbeing Seminar, IAB Brown Bag Talk, JKU Economics Seminar

Abstract: Despite universal healthcare coverage and clinical guidelines recommending psychotherapy after psychiatric hospitalization, only 26% of German patients receive it, and paradoxically, the sickest patients are least likely to get treatment. Using administrative claims data, we investigate whether increasing psychotherapy supply addresses this misallocation. For identification, we exploit quasi-random variation from Germany's therapist license allocation system. A one standard deviation higher supply raises therapy uptake by 10%, modestly reduces waiting times, and lowers patient search frictions, but does not alter the composition of therapy recipients. These findings challenge the assumption that healthcare capacity constraints affect all patients equally.

Selected Work in Progress

• Subsidizing Public Transit for the Long-Term Unemployed (with Jonas Jessen) (Draft upon request)

Abstract: Spatial segregation and liquidity constraints restrict economically disadvantaged groups during their job search. Subsidizing public transit may alleviate these frictions. We investigate the effects of such subsidies on the re-employment of the long-term unemployed (LTU) in German cities, where a dense public transit infrastructure exists, but is expensive to use. Leveraging the staggered roll-out of 50 city- and county-level subsidies and using daily administrative data on the universe of the long-term unemployed, we find that reducing ticket prices delays the return to formal employment, persistently increases marginal employment, but has no effect on subsequent job quality or commuting distances. While individuals reveal a positive willingness to pay for subsidy eligibility, linked survey data show that the subsidies did not improve subjective wellbeing and social participation by a large margin. Conclusively, local mobility constraints may be a negligible barrier economically vulnerable groups face during job search.