Hi there
my name is Christian and I am a quantitative sociologist at the WZB research unit on Skill Formation and Labor Markets, where I work in the EU Horizon Europe project “Mapping inequalities through the life course” (Mapineq). Until 2024, I have been a junior researcher at the WZB Health and Social Inequality research group and a doctoral candidate at the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the Freie Universität Berlin. Prior to joining WZB, I earned a B.A. in Political Sciences and Economics from the University of Tübingen and a M.Sc. in Economics from the University of Konstanz.
My primary research interests lie in the spatial dimension of causes, patterns, and consequences of social inequalities in the areas of neighborhood environments, housing, health, education, and labor market attainment. In previous work, I have examined the socially unequal distribution of environmental goods (e.g., urban green spaces and leisure facilities) and bads (e.g., air pollution, noise) in urban areas, how such environmental inequalities arise and persist, and how they influence health outcomes of different social groups.
One of my recent projects explores the heterogeneous impacts of air pollution exposure at school on educational performance of students from different backgrounds in Italy. As part of the “Mapping inequalities through the life course” (Mapineq) project, I examine the medium- to long-run effects of regional labor market conditions at the time of entry on young adults’ labor market outcomes and family formation. A further project studies how barriers to accessing tertiary education vary across space and by parental socioeconomic status by examining whether study choices of young adults are affected by spatial proximity to universities and housing costs at potential study destinations.
Education
- Ph.D in Sociology (summa cum laude), Freie Universität Berlin, 2024
- M.Sc. Economics, University of Konstanz, 2019
- B.A. Political Science and Economics, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, 2016
Positions
2024- Research Fellow in the Research Unit on Skill Formation and Labor Markets, WZB
2019-2023 Research Fellow in the Research Group on Health and Social Inequalities, WZB
2019-2021 Research Assistant at the Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality”, University of Konstanz
2018 Graduate Trainee in the Directorate General for Innovation and Technology, European Parliament
Teaching
2025 Introduction to causal research designs (Seminar, MA), Freie Universität Berlin
2024 Mapping inequalities across the Life Course (Seminar, MA), Freie Universität Berlin
2022 Inequality and Social Stratification (Seminar, MA), Freie Universität Berlin
You can find my full CV here