"Asylum Seekers and Host Country Mental Health: Evidence from Germany and Switzerland" (accepted, forthcoming 2025). Journal of Development Economics (with Prashant Bharadwaj, Sarah Khoury, and Christoph Schmid)

We show that the arrival of asylum seekers does not affect the mental health of native residents in host countries in Germany and Switzerland.

Abstract

Due to recent conflicts and humanitarian issues, millions of people have sought asylum in countries in Europe. The influx of asylum seekers has sparked debates about the impacts of such migratory flows on resident populations. We study how the recent migration of these forcibly displaced people into Europe affects the mental health of the receiving country residents in Switzerland and Germany. We exploit quasi-random variation in asylum seeker placement by matching settlement data with administrative health insurance data on mental health related treatments and survey data capturing self-reported mental health. Despite numerous possible mechanisms, in both countries, we find no economically meaningful effects of asylum seeker flows on residents’ mental health.

"Moral bandwidth and environmental concerns during a public health crisis: Evidence from Germany" (2024). Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization (with Julia Berazneva, Michelle McCauley, Sabine Zinn and Peter Hans Matthews)

Former chancellor Merkel's speech to the German nation during a public health crises increased economic concerns but did not change concerns about the environment or climate.

Abstract

Did the COVID-19 pandemic crowd out environmental concerns, as one might expect if “pools of worry” were finite or “moral bandwidth” was limited? ...

"Reconsidering inequalities in COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Germany: a spatiotemporal analysis combining individual educational level and area-level socioeconomic deprivation" (2024). Scientific Reports (with Marvin Reis et al.)

Educational differences in the up-take of COVID-19 vaccinations were amplified by local socio-economic deprivation.

Abstract

Combining the frameworks of fundamental causes theory and diffusion of innovation, scholars had anticipated a delayed COVID-19 vaccination uptake ...

"Restrictions to civil liberties in a pandemic and satisfaction with democracy" (2024, online first). European Journal of Political Economy (with Lorenz Meister and Panu Poutvaara)

During the early COVID-19 pandemic, German states' stay-at-home orders increased satisfaction with democracy and shifted political support toward centrist parties.

Abstract

In times of crises, democracies face the challenge of balancing effective interventions with civil liberties. This study examines German states’ responses ...

"Pandemic depression: COVID-19 and the mental health of entrepreneurs" (2023). Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice (with Marco Caliendo, Alexander Kritikos and Johannes Seebauer)

The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the mental health of self-employed women in Germany due to financial losses and increased childcare, while self-employed men showed no significant change.

Abstract

We investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on self-employed people’s mental health. Using representative longitudinal survey data from Germany ...

"Social Norms and Preventive Behaviors in Japan and Germany During the COVID-19 Pandemic" (2022). Frontiers in Public Health (with C. Schmidt-Petri, T. Rieger and C. Schroeder)

The study shows that Japanese people exhibit higher willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19 compared to Germans, despite similar engagement in preventive measures.

Abstract

Using data from Germany and Japan—two “tight” countries with very different infection and mortality rates—we examined how differences in socio-demographic ...

"Negative oekonomische und gesundheitliche Auswirkungen der COVID-19-Pandemie auf Selbstaendige" (2022). Jahrbuch Oekonomie und Gesellschaft, 33 (with A. Kritikos and J. Seebauer)

"COVID-19: a crisis of the female self-employed" (2021). Journal of Population Economics (with A. Kritikos and J. Seebauer)

The pandemic caused greater income losses for self-employed women in Germany than men due to industry concentration and government restrictions, suggesting a need for targeted policy measures.

Abstract

We investigate how the economic consequences of the pandemic and the government-mandated measures to contain its spread affect the self-employed — particularly women ...

"Attitudes on voluntary and mandatory vaccination against COVID-19: evidence from Germany" (2021). PLoS ONE (with C. Schmidt-Petri and C. Schroeder)

Our survey in Germany found that 70% of adults would voluntarily receive a COVID-19 vaccine, with about half supporting mandatory vaccination.

Abstract

We investigate the willingness to get vaccinated and the reasons for an acceptance (or rejection) of a policy of mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 ...