Hi! I am Luisa, and I am a research associate at the Institute of Employment Research (IAB) in Nuremberg and a PhD candidate in Economics at Freie Universität Berlin

I am an applied labor economist and working on topics in migration, labor and gender economics.

Here you can access my CV.

You can find out more about my current research below 👇

Research

Discussion Paper

Hammer, Luisa & Matthias S. Hertweck (2022). EU Enlargement and (Temporary) Migration: Effects on Labor Market Outcomes in Germany, Bundesbank Discussion Paper 02/2022.

Abstract: EU Eastern Enlargement elicited a rise in (temporary) labour market oriented immigration to Germany starting in May 2011. Taking into account that not all immigrants stay permanently and that outmigration flows are selective, this paper classifies recent EU immigrants into "new arrivals" and "stayers" drawing on administrative social security data (2005-2017). This novel strategy allows us to separately identify their potentially opposing short- and medium-run effects on labour market outcomes in Germany. We find a transitory negative effect on wages among German nationals, particularly at the bottom of the wage distribution; and a permanent positive effect on domestic full-time employment.

Work in Progress

The Persistence of Employment Gaps in Couples – Do relative female-to-male wage opportunities really matter?

Abstract: Gender gaps in employment have narrowed but remain substantial, especially within couples. To estimate the effects of improving female wage opportunities on partners' employment choices, I proxy gender-specific earnings potentials through demand-driven wage changes in job tasks within industries and use German administrative data. The estimations show that women react positively, but at a diminishing rate, to improving wage opportunities. The male partners, on the other hand, also increase their labor supply when the (potential) wage advantage of their partner rises. In sum, the within-couple gap in work hours declines at a diminishing rate. But, on average, it does not close the gap, it even widens significantly in some groups. A discussion of potential drivers for these puzzling results building on economic incentives of Becker's household model, shows that comparative advantages can explain well the diminishing effects for women, not however the reversals for the male partners. This could be explained well, however, by (relative) income preferences and gender identity norms.