Research
PLUS Economic research seminar
The Department of Econonomics of the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (PLUS) invites researchers to present and discuss their latest research in economics and management.
Our research seminar is Tuesdays from 17:00–18:30. On-site talks take place in room HS 241 (EBMÖOG2.01). Online talks take place on Zoom. If you want to attend the seminar, please contact Lisa Windsteiger.
| 7.10.2025 (on-site) | Title: Financial Literacy: What Austrians Know, Think, and Do with Their Money Speaker: Stefan Humer (ÖNB) Abstract: Financial literacy is increasingly recognised as an important determinant of individual well-being and the effectiveness of economic policy. Using survey data that capture not only factual knowledge but also attitudes and actual financial behaviour, we document what Austrians know about basic financial concepts, how they perceive financial matters, and how these perceptions translate into saving, borrowing, and investment decisions. The results reveal substantial heterogeneity across socio-demographic groups, with systematic differences in both knowledge and behaviour. We also examine the link between financial literacy and economic outcomes, highlighting implications for financial education and consumer protection policies. |
| 4.11.2025 (on-site) | Title: Trading Deficits for Investment: Optimal Deficit Rules for Present-Biased Governments Speaker: Nikolaj Moretti (PIK Potsdam) Abstract: We develop a simple two-period principal-agent model in which a present-biased government, the agent, chooses public investment levels given a deficit rule imposed by the principal. The principal sets a deficit cap to curb current debt-financed consumption. In doing so, it also reduces long-term government investment. We characterize the optimal deficit rule that balances these opposing effects. Our analysis yields three key insights. First, a deficit rule is always a second-best instrument resulting in nonzero deficits and inefficiently low public investment. Second, while identifying the optimal deficit rule is challenging in practice, we demonstrate that under general conditions, shocks to the productivity of public investment entail an increase in the optimal deficit cap. Third, we compare the welfare effects of three fiscal rules: a balanced budget rule, the absence of any deficit rule, and a benchmark deficit rule. The benchmark deficit rule limits the agent’s deficit to the level incurred by an agent without present bias. For moderate levels of present bias, the absence of a deficit rule leads to higher welfare than the balanced budget rule. The absence of a rule is consistently welfare-dominated by the benchmark deficit rule. Only in cases of substantial present bias does the balanced budget rule result in higher welfare than the benchmark deficit rule. |
| 11.11.2025 (on-site) | Title: Gender Diversity and Diversity of Ideas Speaker: Johanna Reuter (JKU Linz) Abstract: This paper examines how gender differences in research interests and field specialization act as a barrier to increasing the representation of women in academia. We start by documenting substantial gender differences in field specialization in the junior job market in Economics, corroborating evidence based on earlier data and older generations. We then ask the question what type of diversity is created through diversity initiatives in place in the economics academic junior job market: demographic diversity or diversity of ideas. We find that women in male-dominated fields are 15 percentage points more likely to secure Assistant Professor positions than women in other fields, even when controlling for productivity. We intrepret this finding as evidence for demographic diversity. An online experiment replicates this pattern, showing male employers favor women from male fields when incentivized to hire women. We suggest incentivizing the selection of female-dominated fields, rather than focusing solely on hiring women, as an alternative strategy to increase both the representation of women and idea diversity. |
| 18.11.2025 (ATTENTION different room and time = Europasaal HS 240, 18:15-19:15) | PUBLIC LECTURE – Edmundsburg, Europasaal/HS 240 Title: Der Freihandel hat fertig Speaker: Gabriel Felbermayr (WIFO) Abstract: Die Welt von gestern kommt nicht mehr. Europa droht im neuen Zeitalter der Machtpolitik zwischen den USA, Russland und China aufgerieben zu werden. Während uns die Pandemie außenwirtschaftliche Abhängigkeiten schmerzlich vor Augen geführt hat und Putin Energieexporte als Waffe nutzt, legen Trump & Co. die Axt an genau jene Welthandelsregeln an, die die Welt so reich wie nie gemacht haben. China und die USA entkoppeln sich, die Globalisierung soll zurückgedreht werden. In der EU will man keine Freihandelsabkommen mehr, dafür Sanktionen gegen Schurkenstaaten, Lieferkettengesetze und Klimaprotektionismus zur Rettung der Welt. Der Freihandel weicht zunehmend geopolitischen und ökologischen Erwägungen. Deutschland, Österreich und die Schweiz sind mittelstandsgeprägt und handelsorientiert – ihr Wohlstand steht auf dem Spiel. |
| 25.11.2025 (on-site) | Title: Educational Leave in Austria: Selection, Take-up, and Labor Market Effects (Funded by Jubiläumsfonds of Austrian National Bank) Speaker: Jakob Losert (Universität Salzburg) Abstract: This talk presents two related projects on Austria’s paid educational leave scheme (Bildungskarenz). In the first part, we study how benefit generosity affects program take-up. Using administrative data on insured employees aged 40-49 from 2006-2011 and a 2008 reform that unified benefit levels across ages, we combine an age-based regression discontinuity at 45, a cohort difference-in-differences design, and an event-study setup. We show that the pre-reform discontinuity in participation at age 45 disappears once benefits are equalized, and that extending earnings-related benefits to younger workers increased participation by around 56 percent relative to a counterfactual. Effects are concentrated among white-collar and above-median earners. In the second part, we analyze wage dynamics among educational-leave users. Focusing on participants aged 40-49, we compare younger and older cohorts before and after the 2008 reform in a difference-in-differences and event-study setup. We trace wage trajectories around leave and discuss how selection and multiple spells affect interpretation. |
| 2.12.2025 (on-site) | Title: TBA Speaker: TBA Abstract: TBA |
| 27.1.2026 (on-site) | Title: TBA Speaker: Josef Zweimüller (University of Zurich) Abstract: TBA |
Previous research seminars: Summer 2025, Winter 2024, Summer 2024, Winter 2023, Summer 2023, Winter 2022, Summer 2022, Winter 2021
Picture: © flickr.com/uni-salzburg
