Nikolaos Askitas

IZA, Germany

Often in applied social science we provide answers to questions, which policymakers do not ask, and we fail to adequately research some of their more pressing questions. There is obviously a divide between the demand for knowledge and its supply, which needs bridging. In my view in the case of Labor Economics, IZA World of Labor is the answer to this discrepancy and I am happy to have a chance to contribute

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

Director of Data and Technology, IZA, Germany

Research interest

Labor economics, forecasting, big data, ICT and digitization, game theory, non linear dynamics

Positions/functions as a policy advisor

Expert for new sources of data for digital TVET in developing countries, PARIS21 and German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

IRSDACE: Industrial Relations and Social Dialogue in the Age of Collaborative Economy, European Commission—DG Employment.

Online talent platforms, labor market intermediaries and the changing world of work, EU Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee (SSDC), World Employment Confederation-Europe, UNI-Europa.

Expedition Unternehmen, Social Media im Mittelstand 2012−2013, BMWi.

Speaker of the German Data Research Centers at the German Data Forum (RatSWD) 2012−2014.

Qualifications

PhD Mathematics, Indiana University, 1994

Selected publications

  • “Big Data is a big deal but how much data do we need.” AStA Wirtschafts-und Sozialstatistisches Archi 10:2–3 (2016): 113–125.

  • “Trend-spotting in the housing market.” Cityscape 18:2 (2016): 165–178.

  • “Predicting road conditions with internet search.” PloS ONE 11:8 (2016).

  • "The internet as a data source for advancement in social sciences." International Journal of Manpower 36:1 (2015): 2–12 (with K. F. Zimmermann).

  • “Nowcasting business cycles using toll data.” Journal of Forecasting 32:4 (2013): 299–306 (with K. F. Zimmermann).