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Ronnie Schöb

Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

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Author

Current position

Professor in International Public Economics, School of Business and Economics, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Research interest

Happiness, labor economics, general public economics, reforming the welfare state, optimal taxation, environmental and resource economics

Website

https://www.wiwiss.fu-berlin.de/fachbereich/vwl/schoeb/lehrstuhl/team/Schoeb/index.html

Positions/functions as a policy advisor

Member of the Scientific Council at the German Federal Ministry of Finance

Past positions

Full Professor for Public Economics, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany (2002–2007); Visiting Associate Professor, University of Western Ontario, Canada (2000–2001); Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Munich (1995–2001)

Qualifications

Habilitation, University of Munich, 2000

Selected publications

  • Measuring Happiness: The Economics of Well-Being. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2015 (with J. Weimann and A. Knabe).

  • “Changing identity: Retiring from unemployment.” Economic Journal 124 (2014): 149–166 (with C. Hetschko and A. Knabe).

  • “Unemployment and identity.” CESifo Economic Studies 59 (2013): 149–180.

  • “Subsidizing extra jobs: Promoting employment by taming the unions.” Oxford Economic Papers 65 (2012): 807–831 (with A. Knabe).

  • “Dissatisfied with life but having a good day: Time-use and well-being of the unemployed.” Economic Journal 120 (2010): 867–889 (with A. Knabe, S. Rätzel, and J. Weimann).

article(s)

  • Labor market policies, unemployment, and identity Updated

    Policies to help the unemployed can affect feelings of identity and well-being, so measures need to be evaluated carefully

    Ronnie Schöb, November 2021
    Unemployment not only causes material hardship but can also affect an individual's sense of identity (i.e. their perception of belonging to a specific social group) and, consequently, feelings of personal happiness and subjective well-being. Labor market policies designed to help the unemployed may not overcome their misery: wage subsidies can be stigmatizing, measures that require some work or attendance for training from those receiving benefits (workfare) may not provide the intended incentives, and a combination of an unregulated labor market and policy measures that bring people who became unemployed quickly back to work (flexicurity) may increase uncertainty. Policies aimed at bringing people back to work should thus take the subjective well-being of the affected persons more into consideration.
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