Macroeconomics, labor markets, inequality

Moritz Kuhn was a Professor of Economics at the University of Bonn. Among other positions, he is also a Research Affiliate at the Centre for Economic Policy Research, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), and member of the scientific advisory board of the Institute for Labor Market Research (IAB).  He studied Economics at the University of Mannheim and received his PhD there in 2010.

Published papers

• What If? The Macroeconomic and Distributional Effects for Germany of a Stop of Energy Imports from Russia

  Bachmann, R., Baqaee, D., Bayer, C., Kuhn, M., Löschel, A., Moll, B., Peichl, A., Pittel, K., & Schularick, M. (2024). What if? The macroeconomic and distributional effects for Germany of a stop of energy imports from Russia. Economica.

• Changes in the Distribution of Black and White Wealth since the US Civil War

  Derenoncourt, E., Kim, C. H., Kuhn, M., & Schularick, M. (2023). Changes in the Distribution of Black and White Wealth Since the US Civil War. Journal of Economic Perspectives.

• Wealth of Two Nations: The U.S. Racial Wealth Gap, 1860-2020

  Derenoncourt, E., Kim, C. H., Kuhn, M., & Schularick, M. (2022). Wealth of Two Nations: The U.S. Racial Wealth Gap, 1860-2020. The Quarterly Journal of Economics.

Discussion papers

• Army of Mortgagors: Long-Run Evidence on Credit Externalities and the Housing Market

• Job Levels and Wages

• Coordinated Firm-Level Work Processes and Macroeconomic Resilience

• Wealth of Two Nations: The U.S. Racial Wealth Gap, 1860-2020

• The Geography of Job Creation and Job Destruction

• Monetary Policy and Racial Inequality

• The Distribution of Household Debt in the United States, 1950-2019

• The Short-Run Macro Implications of School And Child-Care Closures

Policy briefs

• How it can be done

• Was wäre, wenn…? Die wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen eines Importstopps russischer Energie auf Deutschland

• What if? The Economic Effects for Germany of a Stop of Energy Imports from Russia

• Warum nutzen Arbeitgeber Kurzarbeit?

• Monetary Policy and Racial Inequality

• Wirtschaftspolitik während der Pandemie: Eine europäische Perspektive

• The Short-Run Macro Implications of School and Childcare Closures

• Intergenerational Ties and Case Fatality Rates: A Cross-Country Analysis

What is the best thing about your job?

The freedom and independence of research: What I really value is the freedom to deal with topics and questions that I find interesting and the independence to arrive at results that I consider to be right.

If you had not gone into research, what would you be doing today?

I find investment banking exciting, but I don’t know if that would have made me happy. Or political work – but that would be too exhausting for me.

Who or what inspires you?

Inspiring conversations with people during which I realise that I have really learned something new – often with older, more experienced colleagues. They give me a different view of the world and make me want to think more about certain issues.

When was the last time you had to change your mind?

It feels like daily. Recently I had to change my mind concerning the question of whether “Kurzarbeitergeld” (short-time compensation) works. At first, I could not imagine the miracle effect announced by politicians. But the longer I think about it and discuss it critically, the more convinced I am, because I understand it better.

Which advice would you have needed yourself as a doctoral student?

To think a little outside the box and not always follow the beaten track, but to trust yourself to be creative.