Stephan Thomsen is professor of economics (applied economic policy) and chairman of the Center for Policy Studies (CWS) at the Leibniz University of Hannover. He is also a research associate at the Mannheim Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) and a research fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn.
Thomsen studied economics (Dipl.-Volksw., 2001) at the Goethe University Frankfurt and business economics at the universities of Frankfurt and Hagen (Dipl.-Kfm., 2004). He obtained his doctorate in 2006 at the Goethe University Frankfurt. Following this, he moved to ZEW, where he was a post-doc researcher from 2006 to 2007. In August 2007, Stephan Thomsen became a junior professor for labour economics at the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg. From 2011 to 2016, he was chairman and academic head of the Lower Saxony Institute for Economic Research (NIW) at the Leibniz University of Hannover.
Thomsen’s research focuses on applied econometrics and (micro-)econometric evaluations. He also contributes to questions on labour and educational economics, primarily in the area of the evaluation of policy reforms (including cost-benefitanalyses), human capital, migration, and social security.
Selected Publications
Articles in Refereed Journals
Boockmann, Bernhard, Stephan Lothar Thomsen, Thomas Walter, Christian Göbel and Martin Huber (2015), Should Welfare Administration be Centralized or Decentralized? Evidence from a Policy Experiment, German Economic Review 16(1), 13–42. Download
Thomsen, Stephan Lothar, Thomas Walter and Alisher Aldashev (2013), Short-Term Training Programs for Immigrants in the German Welfare System: Do Effects Differ from Natives and Why?, IZA Journal of Migration 2013, 2:24.
Aldashev, Alisher, Johannes Gernandt and Stephan Lothar Thomsen (2012), The Immigrant-Native Wage Gap in Germany, Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik 232(5), 490-517.
Boockmann, Bernhard, Stephan Lothar Thomsen and Thomas Walter (2011), Aktivierung der erwerbsfähigen Hilfebedürftigen mit arbeitsmarktpolitischen Maßnahmen - Wer wird gefördert? Empirische Ergebnisse auf Grundlage eines neuen Surveydatensatzes, AStA Wirtschafts- und Sozialstatistisches Archiv 4(4), 269-292.
Thomsen, Stephan Lothar and Thomas Walter (2010), Temporary Extra Jobs for Immigrants: Merging Lane to Employment or Dead-End Road in Welfare?, LABOUR: Review of Labour Economics and Industrial Relations 24, Issue Supplement s1, 114-140.
Hujer, Reinhard and Stephan Lothar Thomsen (2006), Wirksamkeit von Arbeitsbeschaffungsmaßnahmen in Deutschland: empirische Befunde mikroökonometrischer Analysen, Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research 39, 3/4, 329-345.
Hujer, R., Stephan Lothar Thomsen and C. Zeiss (2006), The Effects of Vocational Training Programmes on the Duration of Unemployment in Eastern Germany, Allgemeines Statistisches Archiv 90/2, 299-322.
Caliendo, M., R. Hujer and Stephan Lothar Thomsen (2006), Identifying Effect Heterogeneity to Improve the Efficiency of Job Creation Schemes in Germany, Applied Economics im Erscheinen.
Caliendo, M., R. Hujer and Stephan Lothar Thomsen (2006), Sectoral Heterogeneity in the Employment Effects of Job Creation Schemes in Germany, Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik 226/2, 139-179.
Caliendo, M., R. Hujer and Stephan Lothar Thomsen (2004), Evaluation der Eingliederungseffekte von Arbeitsbeschaffungsmaßnahmen in reguläre Beschäftigung für Teilnehmer in Deutschland, Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research 37, 3, 211-237.
Hujer, R., M. Caliendo and Stephan Lothar Thomsen (2004), New Evidence on the Effects of Job Creation Schemes in Germany - A Matching Approach with Threefold Heterogeneity, Research in Economics 58 (4), 257-302.
Articles in Non-Refereed Journals
Boockmann, Bernhard, Martin Brussig, Matthias Knuth, Stephan Lothar Thomsen and Thomas Walter (2009), Mikroökonomische Wirkungs- und Effizienzanalyse: Ergebnisse aus dem Untersuchungsfeld 3, ifo-Schnelldienst 62, 1, 39-47.
Monographs, Contributions to Edited Volumes
Thomsen, Stephan Lothar and Thomas Walter (2010), Der Zugang zu arbeitsmarktpolitischen Maßnahmen in der Grundsicherung für Arbeitsuchende von Personen mit und ohne Migrationshintergrund im Vergleich, in: Matthias Knuth (Hrsg.) Nomos-Verlag, Baden-Baden, 161-183.
Thomsen, Stephan Lothar (2007), Evaluating the Employment Effects of Job Creation Schemes in Germany, Vol. 36, Physica-Verlag, Heidelberg. Download
Brinkmann, C., M. Caliendo, R. Hujer and Stephan Lothar Thomsen (2006), Zielgruppenspezifische Evaluation von Arbeitsbeschaffungsmaßnahmen - Gewinner und Verlierer, in: Brinkmann, C., Koch, S., Mendius, H.G. BeitrAB, Vol. 300 Nürnberg, 161-186.
Caliendo, M., R. Hujer and Stephan Lothar Thomsen (2005), Mikroökonometrische Evaluation des Integrationserfolgs, in: Schaade, P. BeitrAB, Vol. 291 Nürnberg, 53-94.
Discussion and Working Papers
Büttner, Bettina, Hendrik Thiel and Stephan Lothar Thomsen (2011), Variation of Learning Intensity in Late Adolescence and the Impact on Noncognitive Skills, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 11-007, Mannheim. Download
Boockmann, Bernhard, Stephan Lothar Thomsen, Thomas Walter, Christian Göbel and Martin Huber (2010), Should Welfare Administration be Centralized or Decentralized? Evidence from a Policy Experiment, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 10-106, Mannheim. Download
Thomsen, Stephan Lothar and Thomas Walter (2010), Temporary Extra Jobs for Immigrants: Merging Lane to Employment or Dead-End Road in Welfare?, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 10-027, Mannheim. Download
Aldashev, Alisher, Stephan Lothar Thomsen and Thomas Walter (2010), Short-Term Training Programs for Immigrants: Do Effects Differ from Natives and Why?, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 10-021, Mannheim. Download
Thomsen, Stephan Lothar and Katrin Heinicke (2010), The Social Long-term Care Insurance in Germany: Origin, Situation, Threats, and Perspectives , ZEW Discussion Paper No. 10-012, Mannheim. Download
Büttner, Bettina and Stephan Lothar Thomsen (2010), Are We Spending Too Many Years in School? Causal Evidence of the Impact of Shortening Secondary School Duration, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 10-011, Mannheim. Download
Thiel, Hendrik and Stephan Lothar Thomsen (2009), Noncognitive Skills in Economics: Models, Measurement, and Empirical Evidence, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 09-076, Mannheim. Download
Boockmann, Bernhard , Stephan Lothar Thomsen and Thomas Walter (2009), Intensifying the Use of Benefit Sanctions - An Effective Tool to Shorten Welfare Receipt and Speed up Transitions to Employment?, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 09-072, Mannheim. Download
Aldashev, Alisher, Johannes Gernandt and Stephan Lothar Thomsen (2007), Earnings Prospects for People with Migration Background in Germany, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 07-031, Mannheim. Download
Hujer, Reinhard, Stephan Lothar Thomsen and Christopher Zeiss (2006), The Effects of Short-Term Training Measures on the Individual Unemployment Duration in West Germany, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 06-065, Mannheim. Download
Hujer, Reinhard and Stephan Lothar Thomsen (2006), Wirksamkeit von Arbeitsbeschaffungsmaßnahmen in Deutschland: Empirische Befunde mikroökonometrischer Analysen, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 06-054, Mannheim. Download
Hujer, Reinhard and Stephan Lothar Thomsen (2006), How Do Employment Effects of Job Creation Schemes Differ with Respect to the Foregoing Unemployment Duration?, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 06-047, Mannheim. Download
Caliendo, M., R. Hujer and Stephan Lothar Thomsen (2005), The Employment Effects of Job Creation Schemes in Germany - A Microeconometric Evaluation, IZA Discussion Paper, No. 1512, Bonn.
Caliendo, M., R. Hujer and Stephan Lothar Thomsen (2003), Evaluation der Netto-Effekte von ABM in Deutschland - Ein Matching-Ansatz mit Berücksichtigung von regionalen und individuellen Unterschieden, IAB Werkstattbericht, Nr. 2, Nürnberg.
Brinkmann, C., M. Caliendo, R. Hujer, E. Jahn and Stephan Lothar Thomsen (2002), Dreifache Heterogenität von ABM und SAM und der Arbeitslosigkeitsstatus der Teilnehmer sechs Monate nach Programm-Ende - Erste deskriptive Befunde, IAB Werkstattbericht, Nr. 18, Nürnberg.
Expertises
Bonin, Holger, Sebastian Butschek, Petra Knerr, Helmut Schröder, Holger Schütz, Jacob Steinwede, Stephan Lothar Thomsen and Thomas Walter (2014), Evaluation , Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales, Berlin.
Aldashev, Alisher, Stephan Lothar Thomsen, Thomas Walter and andere (2009), Wirkungen des SGB II auf Personen mit Migrationshintergrund, BMAS, Berlin. Download
Projects
Finished Projects
- Project Duration 16.11.2010 - 30.06.2014Evaluation of Job-Related Language Training for Immigrants
- Project Duration 01.03.2007 - 30.04.2010Returns to Education and Wage Inequality for Persons with Migration Background in Germany