Jakob Beuschlein and Ossian Prane will be on the job market
PhD students Jakob Beuschlein and Ossian Prane are this year’s job market candidates from the Department of Economics at Stockholm University. Here they tell us about their papers and what happens next.
Jakob Beuschlein and Ossian Prane (from left to right). Photos: Rickard Kilström; Private
What are your job market papers about?
Jakob: ”Mine is about how debt restructuring or personal insolvency programs shape labor supply incentives. These programs exist in many countries and allow over-indebted individuals to cancel their debt. Using Sweden as a case study, I show that when these repayment plans are adjustable after changes in income, an increase in income results in higher mandatory repayments. This can create very strong incentives preventing unemployed debtors from finding employment.”
Ossian: ”My paper is about how the effects of carbon pricing on emissions and output are shaped by firms’ fuel decisions. We investigate this by combining Swedish firm-level data with a structural model of firms’ fuel choices. Our findings show that firms respond to carbon pricing by switching away from fossil fuels and that this accounts for a large portion of the reduction in emissions.”
How did you start working on your projects?
Ossian: ”I wanted to understand the determinants of firms’ CO2 emissions. Our data reveal large differences in fuel choices across firms, and it was exciting to explore why this is the case. I realized that fuel choices could be critical for the impact of environmental policy, and it felt meaningful to investigate this relatively unexplored question.”
Jakob: ”Initially, I set out to write a methodological paper on examiner instrumental designs, using the debt restructuring setting as a case study. Previous studies from the US and Denmark had shown that these programs can work well for some debtors, so I didn’t expect different results in Sweden. But I quickly realized that the specific design of these programs can play a crucial role in shaping debtors’ outcomes.”
What happens next?
Jakob: ”I am applying for jobs and hoping to find a research environment that is as great as the one I’ve had here in Stockholm.”
Ossian: ”I am currently applying for positions. My hope is to find an exciting job where I can continue working on topics in environmental and international economics.”
