2009

Elisabeth Bügelmayer Elisabeth Bügelmayer She joined the Graduate Center in September 2009. She studied Economics in Vienna, Paris and Berlin and obtained her master´s degree in 2009. In her master thesis she analyzed the impact of mother´s personality and non-cognitive skills in the child´s skill formation process. From 2007 to 2009 she worked as a research assistant at the SOEP group.

Fields of interest: applied panel analyses and interdisciplinary research combining economics, psychology and the neurosciences.

Damir Esenaliev Damir Esenaliev He joined the Graduate Center in September 2009. He graduated in 2003 with Master of Arts in Development Economics from the Williams College (USA). His professional experience includes Economist position at the World Bank office in the Kyrgyz Republic where he dealt with macroeconomic and poverty analysis and various positions at the Economic Department of the National (Central) Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Fields of Interest: Economic policies and reforms, development economics, poverty analysis.

Christoph Große Steffen Christoph Große Steffen He joined the Graduate Center in September 2009. He holds advanced degrees from the Westphalian Wilhelms-University Münster (Diplom-Volkswirt) and Panthéon-Assas Paris II University (Maîtres de Sciences Economiques). Christoph majored in international economics and international management and gained working experience in the global trade finance sector (KfW IPEX-Bank and German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, department “Export Finance and Insurance”). In his diploma thesis he conducted a case-based analysis of local currency loans in international project financings. During the Graduate Center program, he worked for the Federal Ministry of Finance in Berlin.

Fields of interest: international macroeconomics, econometrics.

Clemens Haftendorn Clemens Haftendorn He joined the Graduate Center in September 2009. Clemens graduated from the Technical University of Berlin where he studied management sciences with a focus on energy economics. He has been working as a research assistant at DIW Berlin since 2007. In his previous research as well as in his diploma thesis, Clemens has focused on modeling energy and resources markets, especially the international coal market using partial equilibrium modeling techniques.

Field of interest: energy and resources economics, international energy and resources markets, applied numerical economic modeling.

Daniel Kemptner Daniel Kemptner He joined the Graduate Center in September 2009 after having studied economics at the University of Mannheim and at the University of Toronto. In 2009, he graduated from the University of Mannheim as Diplom-Volkswirt. In his diploma thesis, he investigated the causal relationship between education and health by considering a natural experiment in West Germany using Microcensus data. During his studies, he worked at MEA (Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Aging) as a research assistant.

Fields of interest: Applied Econometrics, Empirical Health and Labor Economics

Antje Kröger Antje Kröger She joined the Graduate Center in September 2009. She holds advanced degrees from the Eberhard-Karls-University Tuebingen (Diplom Volkswirtin and Bachelor of Arts in Japanese Studies). During her studies she focused on International Economics and Microeconomic Theory and interned among others at Daimler Finance in Tokyo and the German Consulate in Osaka. Her diploma thesis was entitled “Stochastical Innovation Processes and Technological Change of Foreign Trade”. During the Graduate Center program she worked for the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin.

Fields of interest: International Economics, Industrial Economics

Jan Marcus Jan Marcus He studied in Konstanz and Istanbul and received degrees in Political and Administrative Science (Bachelor) as well as Economics (Master). In his Bachelor Thesis he analysed the effect of survey methods on the Postmaterialism Index, while his Master Thesis investigated the relationship between income and longevity for women by means of parametric and non-parametric analysis tools. During the Graduate Center programme he interned at the German Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs.

Fields of interest: social policy, survey methodology, applied econometrics

Florian Mölders Florian Mölders He joined the Graduate Center in September 2009. He studied economics at the University of Bonn and the University of Florida. During his studies he focused on international economics and econometrics and worked/interned among others for the German Development Institute, GTZ and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. His diploma thesis was titled “East Asia and the Status of FTAs”. During the Graduate Center program he worked for the Ministry of Economics and Technology in Berlin on trade policy.

Sören Radde Sören Radde He joined the Graduate Center in September 2009. After undergraduate studies in Philosophy and Economics at the University of Bayreuth and University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, he received graduate training in Economics at the University of Cambridge (MPhil in Economics). Throughout his studies Sören focused on macroeconomic modeling and developed a keen interest in the link between financial markets and the macroeconomy. His master thesis dealt with the long-term impact of ownership structures in the banking sector on economic development. Sören gained work experience both in the private (RWE Power AG, McKinsey & Company) and public sector (European Commission, DG ECFIN; German Bundestag).

Fields of interest: Macroeconomics, Financial Markets, Development Economics

Nils Saniter Nils Saniter Before he joined the Graduate Center in 2009, Nils worked as a research assistant to the University of Marburg in the ECAR project, establishing a new Master’s Programme in Economics jointly with the University of Damascus, Syria. He holds a degree in Economics and Peace and Conflict Studies. He spend an academic year at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) in Argentina. His diploma thesis was titled “Does International Trade Push Wage Dispersion? An Empirical Assessment of the Neoclassical Theory of Trade in the Light of Recent Trends in the German Labour Market”.

His current research interest lies in the field of empirical social science, particularly migration and labour market issues and development economics.

Anne Schopp Anne Schopp Before joining the Graduate Center in September 2009, Anne studied International Economics at Tübingen and Hyderabad University. In cooperation with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research she examined in her diploma thesis the interdependencies between economic growth, energy and carbon emissions in India using a cointegrated vector autoregressive model.

Fields of interest: Climate and energy economics, microeconomics, econometrics

Andreas Schröder Andreas Schröder He joined the Graduate Center in September 2009. Andreas graduated with a Master degree in Economics from Free University of Amsterdam and holds a Bachelor degree in Economics and Geography. His Master thesis dealt with the inclusion of aviation into the EU Emissions Trading System. Besides, he has conducted further research on environmental affairs, the transport sector and innovation using empirical methods. Upon graduation in 2008, Andreas gained work experience at the German Federal Foreign Office, the European Commission and the German Bundestag.

Fields of Interest: Economic Policy, industrial organisation

Johanna Storck Johanna Storck She became a member the Graduate Center of DIW Berlin in September 2009. She holds advanced degrees from the University of Potsdam (Diplom Volkswirtin) and the University of Wisconsin (Master of Arts). In her diploma thesis, she analyzed the effect of university tuition fees on student mobility. During her masters program Johanna focused on econometrics and labor economics. Before joining the Graduate Center, Johanna interned at the Unesco statistical office in Bangkok. During the Graduate Center program she worked for the Ministry of Economics and Technology in Berlin and the Urban Institute in Washington.

Fields of interest: education economics, labor economics, microeconometrics

Paul Viefers Paul Viefers He joined the Graduate Center in 2009. He holds a higher degree from the University of Bonn (Dipl.-Volksw.). During his graduate studies he focused on Quantitative Methods (Econometrics & Statistics). He spent a year abroad at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he majored in Economics and Statistics. The title of his diploma thesis was "On liquidity interactions during the 2007/2008 Global Financial Crisis - evidence from Multivariate GARCH models" (Advisor: JProf. Dr. Pigorsch).

Research interests: Economics

Lilo Wagner Lilo Wagner She joined the Graduate Center in September 2009. She studied Economics and Business in Paris, London and Berlin. In her master thesis, she analyzed the impact of the tariff structure on the market participants’ pricing and quantity setting behaviour in the German press distribution system.

Fields of Interests: industrial organization, competition policy and microeconomics.

Juliana Werneburg Juliana Werneburg She joined the graduate school in September 2009. She started her studies in sociology at Bamberg’s Otto Friedrich University. There, she worked as a student assistant at the global life project co-oridnated by Prof. Blossfeld. After a summer internship at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development Berlin, she joined the University of Bielefeld where she commenced her studies, was involved in several research projects and worked for a polling institute. In her diploma thesis she analyzed the division of labor within couples, using SOEP data. The BEATA project co-ordinated by Prof. Diewald and funded by the German Research Foundation enabled her to gain new data, which will complement the data base of her PhD thesis on the effects of employment relationships on couples.

Sindu Workneh Sindu Workneh She joined the Graduate Center in September, 2009. Sindu worked for the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Addis Ababa for four years and half as a research assistant. She holds Masters Degree in Economic Policy Analysis from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. In her Master’s Thesis, Sindu analyzed the link between soil conservation and poverty in rural households of Ethiopia.

Field of interest: Development economics, Poverty Analysis.

Michael Zschille Michael Zschille He joined the Graduate Center in September 2009 and holds an advanced degree from Dresden University of Technology (Diplom Kaufmann). During his studies he focused on efficiency analysis and regulation management as well as energy and environmental economics. He interned at the Hessian Ministry for Economics, Transport, Urban and Regional Development. During the Graduate Center program he worked for the Ministry of Economics and Technology in Berlin. Currently, he focuses on the empirical analysis of network industries.

Fields of interest: efficiency analysis, regulation management, industrial organization, economic policy.

2008

Franziska Bremus Franziska Bremus She joined the Graduate Center in September 2008. She received a master’s degree from the University of Québec at Montréal in 2006 and graduated from the University of Tübingen as Diplom-Volkswirtin in 2008. In her diploma thesis, she analyzed the implications of trade and offshoring for the comovement of international business cycles using a general equilibrium model. Before joining the Graduate Center, she interned at the research division of the Deutsche Bundesbank, where she worked on extending the Bundesbank DSGE-model.

Fields of interest: international macroeconomics, trade, applied econometrics.

Felix Groba Felix Groba He joined the Graduate Center in September 2008. He studied in Dresden, St.Petersburg and New York and holds a Bachelor in International Relations. He obtained his Master of Public Policy in 2008 from the Hertie School of Governance, Berlin. Felix wrote his thesis for the German Federal Ministry of Environment focusing on the added value and potential design of a new international body for the promotion of renewable energies.

Field of interest: environmental and resource economics and policy, renewable energies, international trade.

Hendrik Hagedorn Hendrik Hagedorn He joined the Graduate Center in 2008. He studied physics in Munich and Montpellier and economics in Maastricht (Diplom-Physiker und Master of Economic and Financial Research (MPhil)). Hendrik majored in the economics of growth and technical change. His master thesis dealt with the effect of regulation on entrepreneurship.

Fields of interest: Financial and international economics.

Andreas Harasser Andreas Harasser He joined the Graduatecenter in September 2008. He holds one diploma in Economics as well as one in International Economics and Management Sciences both from the University of Innsbruck. In his diploma thesis he dealt with a reputation problem in a market for credence goods.

Fields of interest: game theory and microtheory.

Katharina Moll Katharina Moll She joined the Graduate Center in September 2008. She holds advanced degrees from the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt (Diplom Volkswirtin) and the University Paris Dauphine (Maîtrise d’Economie Appliquée). During her studies she focused on monetary policy and econometric methods and interned among others at the Research Center of the Deutsche Bundesbank. Her diploma thesis was titled “The Influence of Globalization on Inflation – A Factor- Augmented Phillips Curve Approach”. During the Graduate Center program she worked for the Ministry of Finance in Berlin and the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.

Fields of interest: econometrics, economic policy, monetary policy.

Tony Muhumuza Tony Muhumuza He joined the Graduate Center in September 2008. He graduated in 2007 with Master of Arts (Economics) from the University of Nairobi. In his Masters thesis, Tony analysed the spatial determinants of poverty in rural Uganda. Before joining the Graduate Center, he worked as Assistant Consultant in the Business Advisory Services Department of Ernst & Young (Uganda), and engaged in poverty mapping assignments in Uganda Bureau of Statistics.

Fields of Interest: Development Economics, Poverty Analysis , Economics of Conflict.

Maria Nieswand Maria Nieswand She joined the Graduate Center in September 2008. She studied Business Administration with majors in Energy Economics, Allocation Theory and Public Sector Management at Dresden University of Technology. Her diploma thesis investigated cost efficiency in the German sector of public bus transportation.

Fields of interest: efficiency and productivity analysis, micro-econometric analysis of network industries.

Beatrice Pagel Beatrice Pagel She joined the Graduate Center in September 2008. She received her Bachelor degree in European Studies and Master in International Economic Studies from Maastricht University. In her thesis she analyzed the impact of auction formats on bidding behaviour and entrant survival in public procurement auctions. During the Graduate Center programme, she worked as an intern at the competition department of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology in Berlin and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, DC.

Fields of interest: microeconomics, industrial organization, competition policy.

Nina Wald Nina Wald She joined the Graduate Center in September 2008. She received her Diploma in International Economics at Eberhard-Karls-University Tübingen in 2008. She spent one year as an exchange student at the Ponitificia Universidad Católica in Santiago de Chile. During her studies she focused on international economics, econometrics and politics of Latin America. In her diploma thesis "Home Country Effects of Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence from OECD Countries" she analyzed the impact of increased outward FDI on the home country´s capital stock for a panel of 13 OECD countries.

Fields of interest: Development economics, economics of conflict, international economics.

Michael Weinhardt Michael Weinhardt He studied Sociology in Hamburg (HWP) and London (LSE). He also worked for the longitudinal studies group at the National Centre for Social Research (London) before he became a graduate student at DIW in September 2008. In his Master thesis he investigated the link between social class and the onset of mental illness using longitudinal data on the British population.

Fields of interest: cultural sociology, youth sociology, sociology of the life course and panel data analysis.

Aleksandar Zaklan Aleksandar Zaklan He joined the Graduate Center in 2008. He studied economics and international relations in Bochum, Dublin, Bologna and Washington, DC and holds degrees from Trinity College Dublin, Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University. Aleksandar has gained work experience in a range of organizations, among which are the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the German Federal Ministry of Finance.

Fields of interest: energy and resource economics, international finance and economics, applied econometrics.

2007

Nataliya Barasinska Nataliya Barasinska She joined the Graduate Center in September 2007. She received her master degree in Management Science at the National Technical University of Ukraine in 2005 in Kiev. Since 2005 she has been a research assistant at the DIW Research Group "Financial Marcets and Institutions". In 2007 she graduated from the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder). In her master thesis she conducted a regression analysis of the determinants of financial porfolio diversification by German households.

Fields of interest: household finances, microeconometrics and time series analysis.

Ludwig Ensthaler Ludwig Ensthaler He joined the Graduate Center in September 2007. Ludwig holds advanced degrees in mathematics form the University of Kaiserslautern and the University of Cambridge. Since November 2004, Ludwig has been a scholar of the Studienstiftung, the German National Academic Foundation. He interned with the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology in Berlin and the Centre For Economic And Policy Research in Washington DC.

Fields of interest: microeconomics, market design, matching, auctions.

Olga Nottmeyer Olga Nottmeyer She is a Ph.D. student at the Graduate Center of the DIW Berlin since September 2007. She holds a Bachelor in Mathematics and a master in Economics both from the Free University Berlin. Her bachelor thesis is entitled "music of markow chains" and analyzes the behaviour of markow chains invented by the Berlin composer Orm Finnendahl. In her diploma thesis she evaluated economic determinants on the decision for interethnic marriages of male migrants in Germany using data from the German Socio Economic Panel (GSOEP) of the DIW and micro econometric methods.

Fields of interest: migration, econometrics, labor economics.

Frauke Peter Frauke Peter She is of German and Dutch origin and joined the Graduate Center in September 2007. She studied Economics in Paris and London. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in International Economics at the American University of Paris in 2005 and then moved to London to pursue a Master’s in Economics at Royal Holloway University of London. During her Master’s program she focused on Econometrics, Public Economics and Political Economy. She was awarded her degree “Master of Science in Economics” in November 2006. She analyzed the impact of the Eastern European Enlargement on Germany examining welfare effects and labor migration during her Bachelor program. In her Master’s thesis she evaluated Poverty in Germany considering how households with children are affected.

Fields of interests: labor economics, welfare economics and econometrics.

Pia Rattenhuber Pia Rattenhuber She became a member the Graduate Center of DIW Berlin in September 2007. She completed her degree as Diplom-Volkswirt in International Economics at the Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen in 2006 and had spent a year at Universidad de las Américas, Puebla, México. In her studies she focused on the economics and politics of Latin America and monetary policy in transition countries, also as an intern with the European Central Bank. In her diploma thesis she evaluated a model of trade with heterogeneous firms and comparative advantage. Before joining the DIW Graduate center she graduated in 2007 with a Masters in Economics from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain, where she focused on econometrics, migration and labor markets.

Fields of interest: economic policy, econometrics, international economics.

Geza Sapi Geza Sapi He is a PhD Student in the DIW Berlin Graduate Center since September 2007. He received his Diploma in Economics at Viadrina University in Frankfurt(Oder) in 2006. After his graduation he joined the Hungarian Competition Authority as a competition analyst. During the Graduate Center program he worked in the Competition Policy Section of the German Ministry of Economics.

Fields of interest: competition policy, industrial organization and empirical methods.

Wolf-Peter Schill Wolf-Peter Schill He joined the Graduate Center in September 2007. He studied Environmental Technology in Berlin and Sydney and holds an Environmental Engineering degree (Dipl.-Ing. Technischer Umweltschutz). Wolf majored in waste management and environmental economics. His diploma thesis dealt with individual producer responsibility for electrical and electronic equipment.

Fields of interest: environmental and resource economics; economics of climate change and renewable energy.

Isabel Teichmann Isabel Teichmann She joined the Graduate Center in September 2007. She studied Economics at the Humboldt University of Berlin from October 2002 until July 2007, including an exchange semester at the Stockholm University. In her diploma thesis, she analyzed the impact of Mercosur on its member countries. The study was based on the gravity model of international trade.

Fields of interest: development economics, trade, poverty, regional integration, empirical methods.

2006

Eva M. Berger Eva M. Berger She studied economics at the University of Passau, Germany, and at Université des Sciences Sociales de Toulouse I, France, from 2001 to 2006. Since September 2006 she has been a PhD student at the Graduate Center of Economic and Social Research at DIW Berlin and since January 2008 she has also been a recipient of a post-graduate scholarship from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.
 

Frauke G. Braun Frauke G. Braun She has joined the DIW Graduate Center in September 2006. During the Graduate Center programme she worked as an intern with the Worldbank and the BDI, Berlin. Previously, she studied economics at the University of Tübingen and at the University of Lund, Sweden. She was awarded her degree “Diplom Volkswirtin” by march 2006. She analyzed theoretical models of access pricing strategies of telecommunication networks in her diploma thesis “Termination charges between fixed and mobile networks”.

Fields of interest: industrial economics and empirical methods.

Dr. Astrid CullmannDr. Astrid Cullmann Since 2007 Astrid Cullmann is a doctoral student in the department of international economics.
Astrid Cullmann joined the Graduate Center in September 2006. She studied Economics at the Free University in Berlin and Carlos III in Madrid.
In her diploma thesis she analyzed the Polish electricity market. She conducted a dynamic efficiency analysis of the regional distribution companies applying different benchmarking methods. Since 2004 she has been research assistant in the dpt. of international economics at the DIW Berlin.
Research focus was on the methods of efficiency measurement and the integration of European energy markets. Since 2009 Astrid Cullmann is research associate in the department of innovation, industry and service.

Burcu Erdogan Burcu Erdogan She is a Ph.D. student at the DIW Berlin Graduate Center. She received her degree in Master of Science Program in Economics and Management Science in Humboldt University of Berlin in April 2006. She graduated from the Industrial Engineering department of Middle East Technical University in June 2003 and attended in the Psychology minor program in Middle East Technical University. She worked as a Student Research Assistant at the Institute of Economic Policy II from April 2004 until April 2006. Her master thesis was titeled “How different are Constant Interest Rate Inflation Forecasts from Variable Interest Rate Inflation Forecasts?”

Fields of interest: macroeconomics, econometrics, banking and finance.

Johannes Geyer Johannes Geyer He is Ph.D. student at the DIW Berlin Graduate Center since September 2006. Previously he worked at the DIW Berlin as a research assistant at the department of public economics. He received his degree Diplom-Volkswirt from Free University (FU) Berlin in April 2006.

Fields of interest: social policy, microeconometrics and microsimulation.

Daniela Glocker Daniela Glocker Studies in Economics at Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University Frankfurt and Free University Berlin (Degree: Diplom Volkswirt). Since September 2006 memer of the Graduate Center of Economic and Social Research DIW Berlin and since September 2007 reseacher at the DIW Berlin.

Sven Heitzler Sven Heitzler He is Ph.D. student at the DIW Berlin Graduate Center. Previously he worked at the DIW Berlin as a research associate at the department Information Society and Competition. He received his degree Diplom-Volkswirt from the Technical University (TU) Berlin by December 2005. Before joining the DIW Berlin he taught at the TU Berlin at the faculty for computer sciences and worked as a freelancer in IT consulting and services.

Fields of interest: competition policy, network, ICT and regulatory economics, and ICT security.

Cathérine Müller Cathérine Müller She joined the Graduate Center in September 2006. She studied economics at the Technische Universität Berlin. In her diploma thesis “Trading news and information” she analyzed a news market model and the relationship between politicians and journalists.

Fields of interest: economics of conflict, collective action.

Marc Vothknecht Marc Vothknecht He joined the Graduate Center in September 2006. He studied Economics at the University of Göttingen, Germany and at the University of Rennes 1, France. His main fields of interest are development economics and econometrics. In his diploma thesis, he worked with panel data from South Africa to analyze the impact of socioeconomic differentials in mortality on the measurement of poverty.

Fields of interest: development economics, poverty, conflict.

Nicolas R. Ziebarth Nicolas R. Ziebarth He studied in Berlin and Paris and received his master's degrees in Economics and Business Studies in 2006. In the same year, he joined the Graduate Center of Economic and Social Research at DIW. Since 2007, he is a member of the SOEP group. His research interests are health and labor economics. He has been conducting applied empirical research. The thesis of Nicolas R. Ziebarth deals with Economic Incentives and Sickness Absence and is supervised by the head of the SOEP Group, Prof. Dr. Gert G. Wagner.