Professor Clemens Hetschko

Profile

I joined the University of Leeds in 2020 as an Associate Professor and have since become a Professor of Economics (2025). Previously, I worked as a post-doctoral researcher on a project funded by the German Science Foundation at Free University Berlin and the Institute for Employment Research in Nuremberg (2017-2019). I continue to hold visiting positions at both institutions. I also contribute to the academic community as a co-editor of the Journal of Happiness Studies, co-lead of the Berlin Network for Research on Wellbeing, board member of the International Society for Quality of Life Studies, among others.

Responsibilities

• Research theme leader Labour, Behavioural Economics and Wellbeing

Research interests

My work is at the forefront of a paradigm shift in economics. For a long time, the analysis of individual wellbeing was restricted to quantitative models emphasising the role of income. Today, economists increasingly utilise survey data to broaden our understanding of factors that influence individual and societal wellbeing, ultimately aiming to inform policies that improve people’s quality of life. I analyse labour market phenomena and institutions influencing wellbeing using large-scale individual data. I am also interested in behavioural economics research questions, the evaluation of social policy, and survey methodology.

Please find here a selection of my main publications:

“Happy Citizens Trust Their Rulers” (2025, with Y. Zhang, P. Howley), Journal of Population Economics, forthcoming.

“‘Tiger-Hunting’ and Life Satisfaction: A Matter of Trust” (2025, with Y. Zhang, P. Howley), Canadian Journal of Economics, forthcoming.

“Socialism, Identity and the Well-Being of Unemployed Women” (2025, with T. Günther, J. Conradi), Labour Economics, forthcoming.

“Do You Really Want to Share Everything? The Wellbeing of Work-Linked Couples” (2025, with J. Hennecke), Oxford Economic Papers, 77, pp. 516–536

“Examining Interindividual Differences in Unemployment-Related Changes in Subjective Well-Being: The Role of Psychological Well-Being and Re-Employment Expectations” (2025, with M. Lawes, R. Schöb, G. Stephan, M. Eid), European Journal of Personality, 39, pp. 24-45.

“Income or Leisure? On the Hidden Benefits of (Un)Employment” (2025, with A. Chadi), European Economic Review, 171, 104879.

“Collecting Hair Samples in Online Panel Surveys: Participation Rates, Selective Participation, and Effects on Attrition” (2024, with M. Lawes, J. Sakshaug, M. Eid), Survey Research Methods, 18, pp. 167-185.

“Does Worker Well-Being Adapt to a Pandemic? An Event Study Based on High-Frequency Panel Data” (2024, with J. Schmidtke, R. Schöb, G. Stephan, M. Eid, M. Lawes), Review of Income and Wealth, 70, pp. 840-861.

“The Impact of Unemployment on Cognitive, Affective and Eudaimonic Well-Being Facets: Investigating Immediate Effects and Short-Term Adaptation” (2023, with M. Lawes, R. Schöb, G. Stephan, M. Eid), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 124, pp. 659-681.

“Unemployment and Hair Cortisol as a Biomarker of Chronic Stress” (2022, with M. Lawes, R. Schöb, G. Stephan, M. Eid), Scientific Reports, 12, 21573.

“Contact Modes and Participation in App-Based Surveys: Evidence from a Large-Scale Experiment” (2022, with M. Lawes, J. Sakshaug, S. Grießemer), Social Science Computer Review, 40(5), pp. 1076-1092.

“How Job Changes Affect People's Lives – Evidence from Subjective Well-Being Data” (2021, with A. Chadi), British Journal of Industrial Relations, 59, pp. 279-306.

“Income Support, Employment Transitions and Well-Being” (2020, with R. Schöb, T. Wolf), Labour Economics, 66, 101887.

“Income in Jeopardy: How Losing Employment Affects the Willingness to Take Risks” (2020, with M. Preuß), Journal of Economic Psychology, 79, 102175.

“Looking Back in Anger? Retirement and Unemployment Scarring” (2019, with A. Knabe, R. Schöb), Demography, 56, pp. 1105–1129.

“Embedding as a Pitfall for Survey-based Welfare Indicators: Evidence from an Experiment” (2019, with L. v. Reumont, R. Schöb), Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A, 182(2), pp. 517-539.

“The Magic of the New: How Job Changes Affect Job Satisfaction” (2018, with A. Chadi), Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, 27, pp. 23–39.

“On the Misery of Losing Self-employment” (2016), Small Business Economics, 47, pp. 461-478.

“Flexibilization without Hesitation? Temporary Contracts and Job Satisfaction” (2016, with A. Chadi), Oxford Economic Papers, 68, pp. 217-237.

“Changing Identity: Retiring from Unemployment” (2014, with A. Knabe, R. Schöb), Economic Journal, 124, pp. 149-166.

Qualifications

• Habilitation (postdoctoral lecturing qualification, Free University Berlin, 2021)
• PhD (Free University Berlin, 2014)

Professional memberships

• CESifo Munich
• Royal Economic Society
• Verein für Socialpolitik, Social Policy Committee
• European Association of Labour Economists
• International Society for Quality of Life Studies (ISQoLS)
• Berlin Network for Labor Market Research (BeNA)
• Berlin Network for Research on Wellbeing (BeWell)

Student education

My teaching focuses on the postgraduate level, especially the master’s programmes Economics / Economics and Finance. I lead the compulsory module LUBS5103M Microeconomics. In 2021, I established and have since taught the highly distinctive elective module LUBS5148M Economics of Wellbeing.

Research groups and institutes

• Applied Institute for Research in Economics