Research

As in all large federal states, there are significant regional differences in Germany. In the summer before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Eichstätt district had an unemployment rate of 1.25 percent, representing virtually full employment, while the city of Gelsenkirchen, with a rate more than 10 times higher (13.00 percent), faced significant labor market challenges. The average daily gross wage for an employee in Erlangen was 213.29 euros, roughly twice as high as that in Wittmund (98.23 euros). In addition to the often-discussed East-West divide, there are also significant differences in Germany between North and South, as well as between urban and rural areas.

The research conducted by the chair focuses on the question of which factors explain inequality between and within cities and develops policy recommendations on how to mitigate these disparities.

Research areas:

• Functioning of regional labor markets
• Inequality between and within cities
• Commuting
• Effects of technological change and globalization on the labor market

Current Working Papers

Training or Retiring? How Labor Markets Adjust to Trade and Technology Shocks (2025), with Alexander Bertermann, Jens Suedekum, and Ludger Woessmann, CESifo Working Paper No. 12240. (pdf)

Job Mobility and Assortative Matching (2024), with Luisa Braunschweig and Duncan Roth, IZA Discussion Paper 17207. Revision requested by ILR Review. (pdf)

Affordable Housing and Individual Labor Market Outcomes (2024), with Andreas Mense and Matthias Wrede, IZA Discussion Paper 17359. (pdf)

Organized Labor Versus Robots? Evidence from Micro Data (2024), with Sebastian Findeisen and Oliver Schlenker, CEPR Discussion Paper 19192. (pdf)

Transforming Institutions - Labor Reallocation and Wage Growth in a Reunified Germany (2021), with Sebastian Findeisen, Sang Yoon (Tim) Lee, and Tommaso Porzio.(pdf)

Job Polarization on Local Labor Markets (2014), IAB Discussion Paper, 18/2014. (pdf)

Papers in Refereed Journals

Working from Home Increases Work-Home Distances (2026), with Sena Coscun, Hermann Gartner, Michael Stops, and Enzo Weber, in:Journal of Urban Economics, Vol 152.(pdf)

A Guide to Preparing the Sample of Integrated Labour Market Biographies (SIAB, version 7519 v1) for Scientific Analysis (2023), with Heiko Stüber and Johann Eppelsheimer, in: Journal for Labour Market Research, Vol 57:7. (pdf, Stata-code)(Previous version published in Vol 55 of the same journal in 2020: pdf, Stata-code)

Matching in Cities (2021), with Sebastian Findeisen, Enrico Moretti, and Jens Suedekum, in: Journal of the European Economic Association, Vol 20:4. (https://doi.org/10.1093/jeea/jvac004, pdf, online appendix)

The Adjustment of Labor Markets to Robots (2021), with Sebastian Findeisen, Jens Südekum, and Nicole Wößner, in: Journal of the European Economic Association, Vol 19:6. (https://doi.org/10.1093/jeea/jvab012, pdf)

Adjusting to Globalization in Germany (2021), with Sebastian Findeisen and Jens Südekum, in: Journal of Labor Economics, Vol 39:1. (pdf)

Occupational Routine Intensity and the Adjustment to Job Loss: Evidence from Mass Layoffs (2020), with Uwe Blien and Duncan Roth, in:Labour Economics, Vol 68.(pdf)

Is there Loss Aversion in the Trade-off Between Wages and Commuting Distances? (2020), with Peter Haller, in: Regional Science and Urban Economics, Vol 83.(pdf)

Long-run processes of geographical concentration and dispersion - Evidence from Germany (2018), with Michaela Fuchs and Anne Otto, in: Papers in Regional Science, Vol 97:3. (pdf) (web appendix)

Trade and manufacturing jobs in Germany (2017), with Sebastian Findeisen and Jens Südekum, in: American Economic Review, Papers & Proceedings, Vol 107:5. (pdf)

Do regions benefit from active labour market policies? A macroeconometric evaluation using spatial panel methods (2016), with Reinhard Hujer and Katja Wolf, in: Regional Studies, Vol 50:4. (pdf)

Exporters and Wage Inequality during the Great Recession - Evidence from Germany (2015), with Hans-Jörg Schmerer and Erwin Winkler, in: Economics Letters, Vol. 136:11.(pdf)

Globalization and Local Profiles of Economic Growth and Industrial Change (2015), with Jens Südekum, in: Journal of Economic Geography, Vol. 16:5. (pdf)(web appendix)

The rise of the east and the far east: German labor markets and trade integration (2014), with Sebastian Findeisen and Jens Südekum, in: Journal of the European Economic Association, Vol. 12:6. (pdf) (Crosswalk SITC Rev. 3 -> WZ93)

Agglomeration and regional employment dynamics (2013), in: Papers in Regional Science, Vol. 92:2. (pdf)

The institutional context of an ‘empirical law’: The wage curve under different regimes of collective bargaining (2013), with Uwe Blien, Thorsten Schank and Claus Schnabel, in: British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 51:1. (pdf)

Current other Publications

Berufliches Pendeln in Deutschland (2018), with Peter Haller, in: Wirtschaftsdienst 2018 | 8. (pdf)

Klarer Trend zu längeren Pendeldistanzen (2018), with Peter Haller. IAB-Kurzbericht 10/2018. (pdf)

The rise of robots in the German labour market (2017), with Sebastian Findeisen, Jens Südekum and Nicole Wößner, in: VoxEU, 19 September 2017. (link)

Arbeitnehmer in Deutschland profitieren vom Außenhandel - aber nicht alle (2017), with Sebastian Findeisen and Jens Südekum. IAB-Kurzbericht 15/2017. (pdf)

Verlierer(-regionen) der Globalisierung in Deutschland: Wer? Warum? Was tun? (2017), with Sebastian Findeisen and Jens Südekum, in: Wirtschaftsdienst 2017 | 1. (pdf)

Sectoral employment trends in Germany: The effect of globalisation on their micro anatomy (2017), with Sebastian Findeisen and Jens Südekum, in: VoxEU, 26 January 2017. (link)

Verlierer(-regionen) der Globalisierung in Deutschland: Wer? Warum? Was tun? (2017), with Sebastian Findeisen and Jens Südekum, in: Ökonomenstimme, 13 January 2017. (link)

Globalisation and the nature of German manufacturing jobs (2016), with Sebastian Findeisen and Jens Südekum, in: VoxEU, 21 February 2016. (link)