Teaching
Lecturer
University of Bayreuth, Bachelor Philosophy and Economics
2015 - 2017
Equality of Opportunity (EOp, or IOp for Inequality of Opportunity) is a normative ideal that proclaims that everybody should have equal chances to lead a life worth living. Due to its intuitive appeal it appears to be endorsed by policymakers across the entire party spectrum from left to right. Therefore it is rather surprising that there is no fundamental consensus on what EOp actually is: Which life outcomes should be distributed according to the EOp principle? Based on what grounds is it permissible to allow for unequal opportunities? How can we empirically detect the presence of unequal opportunities?
This seminar provides a structured introduction to the topic that reflects the current state of research and provides a solid basis for the interested participant to deepen her thoughts on the subject of EOp. The seminar has an interdisciplinary ambition and encourages you to blend philosophical reasoning with economic analysis. Students taking this course should possess at least basic knowledge in empirical analysis.
The seminar will be organized in conference style. That means that each participant will give one main presentation, which will be discussed briefly by another participant. After allowing the main presenter a short reply, we will open the floor for questions and discussion.
TA
LMU (University of Munich), Master Economics
2018 / 2020
This course is set at the intersection of inequality research and applied econometrics. The course content is organized around three thematic blocks: (i) income inequality, (ii) wealth inequality, and (iii) equality of opportunity. The main objective of the course is bi-fold: First, provide a structured introduction into state-of-the art empirical research on inequality in economics. Second, enhance the applied econometric tool-kit of participants in preparation for their upcoming M.Sc. dissertation project.
The seminar consists of a preliminary meeting in December 2017, three lectures in April / May 2018, and a seminar block in June 2018. The lectures will give a structured introduction into each of the three thematic blocks with a particular eye on empirical problems and methods. During the preliminary meeting students are assigned a current scientific paper for an empirical replication project. Depending on the paper replication means to (i) critically examine and deepen the analysis of an existing scientific paper, or (ii) to transfer the methodology of a scientific paper onto a new dataset. Students will present their work in a block seminar at the end of the semester. All data and materials necessary for the replication exercise will be made available by the lecturers.