Award: Young Economist Award by the National Economic Society (NOeG) in cooperation with the Austrian National Bank (OeNB)

Paper Title: The World Gets Smaller: Costs of Mobility and Regional Unemployment - Evidence from Austrian Labor Market Districts

Content: Lorenz Fischer and Michael Brottrager (both from the Institute of Economics) focus on explaining the connection between regional mobility and the regional unemployment rate. Using a theoretical search model, they demonstrate that regional mobility can both positively and negatively effect regional unemployment rates. However, an empirical analysis of Austrian job market and migration data shows that only decreasing commuting costs can be reconciled with decreasing regional unemployment rates.

About the authors:

Lorenz Benedikt Fischer: age 31, from Linz

Areas of Research: Spatial economy, mobility/migration, regional job markets

Hobbies: Hiking, back-country skiing

Background: Born in Tyrolean Oberland, Lorenz Fischer completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Innsbruck. His studies included a stay abroad at the University of Gothenburg. He is currently enrolled in the joint PhD in Economics organized by the JKU Linz and the University of Innsbruck. During his PhD studies, he also completed a fellowship at WIFO. While in Linz, he has also time conducting research at the University of Jönköping. Additional visits there and to the VATT Institute for Economic Research in Helsinki are planned.

Michael Brottrager: age28, from Vienna

Area of research: Applied microeconometrics, labor economics, health economics, conflict & migration

Hobbies: Mountain climbing & cross-country skiing

Background: Born in upper Styria, Michael Brottrager completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration and has been in the PhD program at the JKU Linz and at the University of Innsbruck since 2017. As part of his PhD studies, he focuses primarily on the economic analyses of mandatory military service as well as issues in the area of health economics.