About Me

URPP Project: “Perceptions of Inequality”

The URPP “Equality of Opportunity” combines research from political science, economics, philosophy and law to understand economic and social changes leading to inequality, the consequences of rising inequality and the policies that can foster greater equality of opportunity. Together with Tarik Abou-Chadi, Silja Häusermann, and Stefanie Walter, we wants to investigate how objective economic and social inequalities are translated into political preferences and political behavior. In a first step, we focus on the dynamics of perceived inequalities and opportunities that form the crucial link between structures and behavior.

PostDoc Project: “Legacies of Decline - The Longterm Consequences of Economic Downturn for Political Preferences”

My postdoctoral project funded by the UZH`s Forschungskredit explores whether exposure to downturn and challenging economic transformations during childhood and adolescence impacts adult economic opportunity perceptions and political preferences for policies that address socio-economic inequalities. The project lays the groundwork for understanding the longterm consequences of regional economic decline and transformations and extends our understanding of the origins of political preferences. This is especially important, as economic disparities in countries are on the rise and a growing number of children are raised in regions that are lagging behind economically. By studying the legacies of decline we gain a better understanding of how increasing inequality within countries will affect the politics of these future generations. The project provides both theory and evidence on the political implications of decline and inequality working with an interdisciplinary approach that draws on insights and methods from political science, economic geography, economics and social psychology.

PhD: “The political Economy of Protest - How the Uneven Distribution of Development and Globalization gains affects Welfare and Protest”

My doctoral thesis on the political economy of protest traces the uneven distribution of development and globalization gains between regions and individuals and test their potential to fuel social unrest. The main findings of my thesis show that both development and globalization profit predominantly high-skilled labor in developing and emerging markets. However, the uneven distribution of gains does not automatically result in protest, social unrest only becomes more prevalent when large parts of the local population lose out from these economic transformations.

For more information please find my CV here