Research
Labor markets, firm dynamics, wage setting, and structural change.
Labor markets, firm dynamics, wage setting, and structural change.
My research examines how workers and firms adjust to economic change. Key areas include job displacement and wage losses after firm exits, rent sharing and institutional wage setting, structural change in local labor markets, and the long-run economic transformation of East Germany.
I study the labor market consequences of job displacement following firm exits and insolvencies. A particular focus is on the role of firm-specific rents and employer size in shaping wage losses and workers’ post-displacement trajectories. This work contributes to a better understanding of labor market adjustment costs during periods of structural change.
Industry Mix, Local Labor Markets, and the Incidence of Trade Shocks Journal of Labor Economics (2024)
Explaining Wage Losses after Job Displacement: Employer Size and Lost Firm Rents Journal of the European Economic Association (2021)
Transferability of Skills across Sectors and Heterogeneous Displacement Costs American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings (2017)
This line of research examines how labor market imperfections and industrial relations shape firm-level wage premia and rent sharing. I analyze the role of collective bargaining, works councils, and unions in wage determination, as well as how cost shocks and firm characteristics translate into wage outcomes.
Identifying Rent-Sharing Using Firms’ Energy Input Mix
Journal of the European Economic Association (conditionally accepted)
Organized Labor, Labor Market Imperfections, and Employer Wage Premia
ILR Review (2024)
Firm Wage Premia, Industrial Relations, and Rent Sharing in Germany
ILR Review (2020)
I analyze how structural and trade-related shocks affect local labor markets, with particular attention to industry composition and regional exposure. This work highlights heterogeneity in labor market outcomes across regions and contributes to the literature on place-based economic adjustment.
The Geography of Worker-Firm Sorting: Drivers of Rising Colocation IWH Discussion Paper 22 (2025)
Industry Mix, Local Labor Markets, and the Incidence of Trade Shocks
Journal of Labor Economics (2024)
Robots, occupations, and worker age: A production-unit analysis of employment European Economic Review (2024)
This research strand investigates how labor market institutions and employment arrangements affect firm productivity and performance. The focus is on institutional settings such as works councils and temporary agency work and their implications for productivity at the establishment and firm level.
The Productivity Effect of Temporary Agency Work: Evidence from German Panel Data Economic Journal (2012)
Works Councils and Establishment Productivity ILR Review (2012)
A core element of my research examines the long-run economic transformation of East Germany after reunification and persistent East–West differences in labor market outcomes, productivity, and firm dynamics. I analyze how structural change, firm exits and entries, wage-setting institutions, and labor reallocation have shaped regional disparities over time.
The East-West German Gap in Revenue Productivity: Just a Tale of Output Prices? Journal of Comparative Economics (2022)
Earlier in my career, I worked on education economics, focusing on class size and teacher experience.
Teacher Experience and the Class Size Effect – Experimental Evidence Journal of Public Economics (2013)
My research has been supported by major national and international funding bodies. I have served as principal investigator, coordinator, or host researcher for large-scale projects on productivity, labor markets, structural change, and economic transformation.
Max Planck–Humboldt Research Award
“The Economic Gap between East and West Germany”
Host and project partner of the awardee Prof. Ufuk Akcigit
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation / Max Planck Society
Funding volume: €1,800,000
Period: 2020–2026
This project studies the persistent economic gap between East and West Germany, focusing on productivity, firm dynamics, innovation, and long-run structural transformation. The project connects historical transition processes with contemporary regional disparities in advanced economies.
Volkswagen Foundation
“The Rise of Populist Parties in Europe: The Dark Side of Globalization and Technological Change?”
Volkswagen Foundation
Funding volume: €1,000,000
Period: 2020–2024
This project investigates how globalization and technological change affect labor markets and political outcomes, with a particular focus on economic insecurity, structural change, and regional heterogeneity across Europe.
Horizon 2020 (European Union)
MICROPROD – “Raising EU Productivity: Lessons from Improved Micro Data”
Project Coordinator
European Commission
Funding volume: €3,000,000
Period: 2019–2022
MICROPROD brings together international research teams to study productivity dynamics across European countries using improved firm-level micro data. The project provides evidence on productivity dispersion, firm heterogeneity, and the role of institutions and structural change.
German Research Foundation (DFG)
“Firm Wage Differentials in Imperfect Labour Markets”
(with Boris Hirsch)
German Research Foundation (DFG)
Funding volume: €200,000
Period: 2018–2021
This project analyzes firm-level wage differentials in the presence of labor market imperfections, contributing to the literature on rent sharing, wage setting, and employer wage premia.
German Research Foundation (DFG)
“Wage and Employment Effects of Bankruptcies”
(with Daniel Fackler and Jens Stegmaier)
German Research Foundation (DFG)
Funding volume: €240,000
Period: 2018–2021
This project studies the labor market consequences of firm bankruptcies, focusing on job displacement, wage losses, and post-displacement employment trajectories. It provides a key empirical foundation for policy-relevant analysis of insolvencies and labor market adjustment.