Björn Höppner
My research
" My thesis deals with unobserved heterogeneity and missing data problems, mainly in panel data settings. My job market paper specifically studies group-specific heterogeneity in binary outcome models. I provide conditions under which such models are nonparametrically identified with a small number of time periods and propose a semiparametric estimator for the model class of interest."
My future
"In September 2026 I am joining the University of Amsterdam as an assistant professor."
My highlights
"What I enjoyed most at the BGSE was the supportive research environment. I think back especially on the many insightful discussions with fellow PhD students and my advisors, and on the econometrics reading group, which I always looked forward to."
Valentin Kecht
My research
“Economic uncertainty and complexity have increased markedly over the last decades. My dissertation studies how these trends interact with workers' labor market outside options and shape aggregate economic dynamics. In the market for executives, aspiring CEOs move more between jobs to build the broad experience firms demand in response to changing business conditions, which is why they reach the top substantially later than they used to. In the financial industry, bankers with more attractive outside options make riskier loans, as they are less likely to suffer the adverse consequences of their choices. At the lower end of the income distribution, recently unemployed workers have become more likely to take up gig work, supplementing rather than substituting for public unemployment insurance schemes.”
My future
“I am excited to join the finance group at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne as a Postdoc, where I will continue my research at the intersection of labor economics and finance.”
My highlights
"Being a structured programme, BGSE gave me time and freedom to figure out what I actually wanted to work on before matching with supervisors, which paid off in excellent supervision at every stage of the research process. Working at the intersection of two fields, I particularly appreciated being able to talk to local experts in both and find a home in each. Beyond that, a PhD journey is full of exciting opportunities, and the environment in Bonn gave me access to many of them, either directly or indirectly: funding to acquire data and attend conferences, the chance to co-organize PhD workshops, and networks that allowed me to spend time in other top institutions.”