Abstract: "This study identifies the causal effect of pension generosity on women's fertility behavior. It capitalizes on Brazil's expansion of the pension system to rural workers, whose pension wealth subsequently more than tripled. Difference-in-differences, instrumental variable and event study methods show that the pension reform reduces the propensity of childbearing of women in fertile age by 8% in the short-run. Completed fertility declines by 1.3 children within 20 years after the reform, reducing the contribution base of the Pay-As-You-Go pension system in the long-run. The fertility response is strongest at higher birth parities, among older women and among mothers with sons."

Link to latest paper version.  

Online appendix. Replication code.

Older versions: IZA Discussion Paper 13048, 2020. CESifo Working Paper No. 8173, 2020. BGPE Discussion Paper 192, 2020.

Abstract: "With (automatic) exchange of tax information among countries now common, tax evaders have had to find new ways to hide their offshore holdings. One such way are citizenship-by-investment programs, which offer foreigners a new passport for a local investment or a fixed fee. We show analytically that high-income individuals acquire a new citizenship to lower the probability that their tax evasion is detected through information exchange. Using data on cross-border bank deposits, we find that deposits in tax havens increase after a country starts offering a citizenship-by-investment program, providing indirect evidence that tax evaders use these programs."

Link to latest paper version. 

Guest articles: Süddeutsche Zeitung. Austaxpolicy Blog. Ökonomenstimme.

Older versions: CESifo Working Paper 8956, 2021. BGPE Discussion Paper 204, 2021.

Abstract: "The research on wealth inequality has generally focused on real and financial assets, while giving little attention to pension wealth: the present value of future pension entitlements from public and company pension schemes. This is surprising given the important role pension plans play in guaranteeing material security and well-being for a majority of the population, and suggests that they should be accounted for in peoples’ wealth portfolios. Using novel data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we study the incidence, relevance, and distribution of individual pension wealth, net worth, and augmented wealth (the sum of the two) in Germany. Further, we investigate age-wealth profiles and differences between East and West Germany."

Link to latest paper version. 

Online appendix 1. Online appendix 2. 

Media coverage: Frankfurter Allgemeine Woche. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. 

Older versions: SOEPpapers 853, 2016.

Abstract: "Is money provided by the U.S. to support foreign defense and security forces lining the pockets of corrupt elites from recipient countries? I address this question by analyzing private offshore wealth accumulation dynamics coinciding with U.S. defense and security aid flows. Using data on U.S. foreign assistance paired with data on cross-border bank deposits, I document that U.S. defense and security aid disbursements are linked with increasing offshore bank deposits originating from aid receiving countries. Yet, only deposits held in international banking centers known for financial privacy laws and confidential asset management services significantly increase. The entire effect is concentrated among a small number of countries receiving substantial aid disbursements. A consistent explanation for the totality of my findings is that influential persons from recipient countries—most plausibly ruling political and economic elites—siphon off U.S. defense and security aid and channel the captured money into offshore accounts."

This project contributes to our understanding of pro-environmental decision-making from an economic and interdisciplinary perspective by investigating the cultural roots of current attitudes, policies, and policy resistance. Within the cultural realm, we focus on the concept of the self in relation to the environment, which is connected to the well-established individualism-collectivism dimension from cultural psychology. Specifically, we bring the deep connection between cultural attitudes, climatic conditions, and environmental action full circle by studying the following research questions:

1. How are past climatic conditions related to past and current cultural views of self?

2. How are these cultural views of self related to current pro-environmental

a. attitudes, consumption behaviors, and voting patterns

b. policies and environmental outcomes? 

Access to electricity is crucial for economic development and improving living standards. However, many countries face persistent challenges with power outages, which have significant (socio-)economic implications. These outages affect households, businesses, and overall economic activity, as well as societal cohesion and trust in government and public institutions. This project aims to analyze the consequences of energy unreliability, exploring its effects on outcomes such as employment, education, health, and local economic growth.