“I am broadly interested in policy relevant topics in applied microeconomics. My primary research interests are at the intersection of economics of education and public policy, with a secondary interest in behavioral economics. I am broadly interested in policy relevant topics in applied microeconomics.” Anyone just somewhat familiar with the research profile of the WiSo-Faculty would likely think: “Yes, this fits!”
We are delighted to welcome Jun. Prof. Dr Sonja Kovacevic as a new member of the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences of the University of Cologne! Since 11th September 2024 she works as Junior Professor of Applied Microeconomics.
We are pleased to have gained such an original researcher who uses causal methods of econometrics in her scientific work. She uses quasi-experimental methods in large data sets, online experiments and machine learning to work on important questions in economics. In her paper ‘It's All About What You Learn: Isolating the Human Capital Component in the Returns to Higher Education’, winner of the best paper award at EAYE 2024, she determines the value of human capital on the labour market independently of educational qualifications. To do this, she uses the reorganisation of the Norwegian higher education system as part of the Bologna reform. In a contribution on redistribution preferences, ‘Excessive Pay Is Not About the Numbers: How Power Abuse Erodes Inequality Acceptance’, she experimentally analyses the effects of power abuse on the acceptance of income inequality. In addition, Sonja Kovacevic works with historical data on the origins of the welfare state and on several other projects on family and education economics.
Sonja Kovacevic studied political economy, political science and economics in Bremen, Bordeaux and Essex. She then worked on her doctorate in economics at the University of Oslo, with the title ‘Empirical Perspectives on Public Policy and Redistribution’, and subsequently accepted a position at the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne.
With us, she will concentrate on applied microeconomics, with a particular focus on the economics of education and public policy. She is also interested in behavioural economics.
With WiSo Dean Prof. Ulrich Thonemann, Ph.D. we are delighetd o welcome Jun. Prof. Dr Sonja Kovacevic to our ranks. We are convinced that with her expertise and commitment she will make valuable contributions in line with our motto ‘Today's ideas. Tomorrow's impact.’, she will make valuable contributions to our research activities.
