Professor Stefan Bauernschuster

Stefan Bauernschuster is Professor of Public Economics at the University of Passau since 2013. He is also research professor at the Ifo Institute Munich, CESifo Affiliate, IZA Research Fellow and a member of the committee for social policy of the German Economic Association.Furthermore he is one the principal investigators of the DFG Research Training Group 2720 "Digital Platform Ecosystems (DPE) – Digital platform-based value creation and its implications for data exchange, organisation and socio-economic development". In his research, he uses micro-econometric methods to answer policy relevant questions in the fields of labor, population, health and education economics

'I occupy myself with the question of how political measures influence decisions made by individuals and families in the areas of work, family and health. In particular, for my empirical analyses, as well as data from large-scale surveys, I also use disaggregated administrative data, for example data on all individual hospitalisations in Germany, all individual births or all individual road accidents recorded by the police. This work often relates to current socio-political topics, but sometimes also, retrospectively, to measures of historical interest. Modern technologies such as digital platform systems throw up exciting new questions relating to traffic, living and health, and present challenges to the social market economy. Those challenges will also occupy me in the future.

My research interest focuses on topics of political relevance. I try to uncover genuine cause-and-effect relationships and not merely describe naive correlations. That knowledge allows me to make objective assessments of political measures, instead of just being driven by doctrines that have a particular political and/or ideological colour to them.

In my research I often move in areas which are at the interface between economics and, for example, linguistics, law, history or political science. I think it's exciting to be able to think about topics that also occupy colleagues in other subject areas.'

Related research

Professor Bauernschuster has conducted numerous empirical studies on the role of institutions in the context of socio-economic transformation.

More on Professor Stefan Bauernschuster’s research.

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Do Transit Strikes Affect Public Health?

In a study appearing in the February 2017 issue of the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, researchers Stefan Bauernschuster, Timo Hener, and Helmut Rainer studied 71 transit strikes across five major German cities. They found that strikes can lead to some serious health problems for a city’s residents. Video: American Economic Association

Research stories

A study conducted by economists from the Universities of Passau and Potsdam has revealed that, while public childcare allows mothers to return to work soon after childbirth, a quick return is no ticket to career advancement.

How did the Spanish flu influence voting behaviour in the Weimar Republic? In our study, we use historical data to show that it was not the extreme parties that benefited. By economists from Passau, Berlin, Cologne and Rome

A study conducted by early career researchers based on data from Switzerland has revealed: On days when temperatures exceed thirty degrees Celsius, the number of occupational accidents increases by 7.4 percent.

The Office of US President Joe Biden sent Stefan Bauernschuster, Professor of Public Economics, a thank-you e-mail after one of his studies was cited in the new US Economic Report.

Drawing on an analysis of historical data, we show that the birth control clinics of the US-American women rights advocate Margaret Sanger had a massive impact on health at the beginning of the 20th century. By Professors Bauernschuster and Grimm

Early career economists are gauging which households in Germany are particularly hard hit by energy poverty and what it takes to get people to accept unpopular but expedient measures to address the climate crisis.

The Research Training Group "Digital Platform Ecosystems" will be the University’s pivotal hub for leading-edge, international, and interdisciplinary research and advanced academic qualifications around a central phenomenon of the digital economy.

Stefan Bauernschuster from the University of Passau and Christian Traxler from the Hertie School argue that a speed limit would not only lead to fewer deaths and injuries, but also has positive effects for those living in the vicinity of highways.

Young economist Dr Katrin Huber examines in her doctoral thesis the effect of labour market and family policy on partnerships and on the development of children - and has received an award for her work.

Economist Carlo Schwarz from Bocconi University is Stefan Bauernschuster’s guest in our #PassauDPE keynote series. He studies the effects of Social Media on the real world – and will present new research insights.

Professor Stefan Bauernschuster

Related research

Do Transit Strikes Affect Public Health?

Research stories

How child care affects mothers' careers

The pandemic that strengthened the moderates

Heat causes increase in occupational accidents

There's mail for you from the White House

How birth control impacted maternal and infant mortality rates

Preventing energy poverty – and boosting carbon tax acceptance at the same time

New DFG Research Training Group to be established at the University of Passau

Speed limits improve health outcomes and protect our climate

Award-winning doctoral thesis: All you need is love?

How Twitter affects elections