Welcome!

Economist

Welcome! I am an applied micro- and behavioral economist who uses surveys and experiments to study preferences for redistribution.  My recent work uses large-scale surveys to explore individuals' beliefs about the consequences of inequality, and it establishes such beliefs as an important determinant behind preferences for redistribution. My other work focuses on motivated cognition and social norms with applications in public, labor, and environmental economics.

Until March 2023 I was a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality", Thurgau Institute of Economics, and the Department of Economics at University of Konstanz. I hold a Ph.D. in Economics from the Paris School of Economics under the supervision of Nicolas Jacquemet and Claudia Senik. 

Currently, I am an associate researcher at the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" at University of Konstanz. I also work as a policy-maker at the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy. The content on this website is my own and does not necessarily reflect the view of the ministry.

Current Research

The Consequences of Inequality: Beliefs and Redistributive Preferences with Morten Støstad

Working Paper, Conditionally accepted at the American Economic Review

Abstract:     Using two large-scale studies in the United States we document widespread public agreement that inequality leads to negative societal consequences, for example by increasing crime (74 %), harming democratic institutions (57 %), and weakening economic growth (52 %). An information experiment establishes causal evidence that such inequality externality beliefs substantially influence redistributive preferences, with an importance approaching that of economic fairness views. Inequality externality beliefs are less polarized across income levels and political affiliations than fairness views, and have a particularly strong influence on high-income individuals. Our results demonstrate that these previously undocumented beliefs constitute a key determinant of redistributive preferences.

Contact

Email: lobeckmax@gmail.com