New professors at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics & Business kicked off the traditional inaugural lecture series with insight on fascinating subject areas. Prof. Gnambs (Institute for Education and Psychology) held a presentation titled "Zur Messung psychologischer Merkmale in umfangreichen Bildungsstudien".

Representative educational studies, such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) or the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competences (PIAAC), provide an important database for research in education. The presentation introduced the national educational panel in Germany, a longitudinal multi-cohort study to explore competence developments. Discussions were held about the methodological challenges in particular to coherently measure psychological characteristics over the course of life.

Prof. Halla (Institute for Economics) focused on the "Long-Term Economic Consequences of the Soviet Occupation in Austria".

Historical studies have shown that living conditions in occupied post-war Austria were very different according to who the occupying power was. Prof. Halla’s presentation focused on the long-term economic consequences of this political period. Econometric analyses show that the Soviet occupation led to persistent changes and even today, the affected regions are still economically worse off.