Welcome

I am a Professor of Microeconomic Theory at the Department of Economics, University of Bern, Switzerland.

Education:

  • M.Sc. Physics, University of Marburg, 1999.
  • Ph.D Economics, London School of Economics, 2004.

Research Interests:

The objective of my research is to improve our understanding of fundamental economic mechanisms that play a role in a broad variety of settings. For this purpose, I design microeconomic models of individuals, organizations, and markets and collaborate with empirical or experimental researchers to confirm their predictions. The topics I have worked on include:

  • Advance purchase markets: How to use introductory offers and last minute discounts when customers learn their preferences over time.
  • Durable goods markets: How to screen customers by renting and/or selling.
  • Contests and tournaments: How to allocate prizes, employ bias, and design information to attract, select, and incentivize the most talented agents.
  • Organizations: How to allocate information and authority when success requires both adaptation and motivation.

Funded Projects – Swiss National Science Foundation

  • Dynamic Screening without Commitment. Info.
  • Racing with Private Information: Can Patents have an Adverse Effect on Incentives to Innovate?  Info.

“In the folklore of science, there is the often-told story of the moment of discovery: the quickening of the pulse, the spectral luminosity of ordinary facts, the overheated, standstill second when observations crystallize and fall together into patterns, like pieces of a kaleidoscope. But there is another moment of discovery – its antithesis – that is rarely recorded: the discovery of failure. It is a moment that a scientist often encounters alone.”

Siddharta Mukherjee, The Emperor of All Maladies