Publications
Are the Supporters of Socialism the Losers of Capitalism? Conformism in East Germany and Transition Success (with Martin Lange, ZEW Mannheim)
Abstract: The empirical literature is inconclusive about whether a country's democratization has a long-lasting impact on former supporters or opponents of the bygone regime. With newly available individual-level data of former residents of the socialist German Democratic Republic (GDR), we analyze how supporters and opponents of the socialist system performed within the market-based democracy after reunification Protesters, those who helped to overthrow the socialist regime in the Peaceful Revolution show higher life satisfaction and better labor market outcomes in the new politico-economic system. Former members of the ruling socialist party and employees in state-supervised sectors become substantially less satisfied. These results do not seem to be driven byy differential reactions in the post-transition period, but rather by the removal of discriminatory practices in the GDR. Additional results indicate that conformism in the GDR also explains political preferences over the almost three decades after the reunification of Germany.
Home Sweet Home: Working from home and employee performance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK (with Yue Huang, IAAEU Trier and Sumit Deole, TU Dortmund)
Abstract: In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced governments in many countries to ask employees to work from home (WFH) where possible. Using representative data from the UK, we show that increases in WFH frequency are associated with a higher self-perceived productivity per hour and an increase in weekly working hours among the employed. The WFH-productivity relationship is stronger for employees residing in regions worse affected by the pandemic and those who previously commuted longer distances, while it is weaker for mothers with childcare responsibilities. Also, we find that employees with higher autonomy over job tasks and work hours and those with childcare responsibilities worked longer hours when working from home. With prospects that WFH possibility may remain permanently open for some employees, we discuss our results' labor market policy implications.
Self-Selection and Socialization in the Finance Industry: Longitudinal Evidence on FinanceProfessionals Preferences for Money and Risk (with André van Hoorn, Radboud University)
Abstract: The financial sector plays a crucial role in society. Consequently, prior research has examined the preferences of professionals working in finance. However, these studies have tended to be cross-sectional and have neglected the dynamic roles played by (self-)selection and socialization. This paper uses longitudinal data from Germany to examine how individuals’ financial risk preferences affect their likelihood of starting and stopping work as a finance professional. Additionally, this work studies how socialization in the finance industry affects financial risk preferences. Our results indicate that individuals who are more risk tolerant are more likely to enter the finance industry, but their risk preferences do not affect their likelihood of exiting the industry. Furthermore, socialization in the finance industry does not appear to significantly strengthen finance professionals’ financial risk preferences. We conclude that the average financial risk preferences of finance professionals are mostly shaped by individuals entering the industry. As such, policies aimed at changing risk preferences in the finance industry should be targeted at recruitment, at least in Germany. This study has important practical implications for the finance industry, as it suggests that recruitment policies can play a crucial role in shaping the risk preferences of finance professionals.
Hartz and Minds: Happiness Effects of Reformingan Employment Agency
Abstract: Since the labor market reforms around 2005, known as the Hartz reforms, Germany hasexperienced declining unemployment rates. However, little is known about the reforms’ effect on individual life satisfaction of unemployed workers. This study applies difference-in-difference estimations and finds a decrease in life satisfaction after the reforms that is more pronounced for male unemployed in west Germany. The effect is driven by income and income satisfaction, but not by the unemployment rate. Also unemployed persons who exogenously lost their jobs are affected by the reforms. In line with the structure of the reforms, the effect is stronger on long-term and involuntarily unemployed persons.