Room: GD 1/283
Phone: 0234 / 32 - 28971
Email: zohal.hessami@ruhr-uni-bochum.de
Zohal Hessami is a Professor for Social Policy and Public Economics at the Ruhr-University Bochum, a CESifo Munich affiliate member and an IZA Bonn research fellow. She served as President of the European Public Choice Society (2022-2024).
She visited Harvard University in 2023, the ifo Institute in 2019, Universitat Pompeu Fabra in 2014 and the University of Cambridge in 2013. She pursued her undergraduate studies at Maastricht University and Université de Montréal and received her Doctorate in Economics from the University of Konstanz in 2011.
She studies political selection, voting behavior, (local) policy choices and public finances, and electoral systems and accountability. Her research has been widely published in journals such as the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Review of Economics and Statistics, European Economic Review, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.
Current positions and affiliations
Since 07/2020: Professor (W3), Chair for Social Policy & Public Economics, RUHR-UNIVERSITÄT BOCHUM
Since 10/2019: Research fellow, IZA BONN
Since 09/2019: Affiliate member, CESifo MÜNCHEN
Previous Positions
04/2020 – 07/2020: Professor (W2), Faculty of Social Science, RUHR-UNIVERSITY BOCHUM
02/2019 – 01/2020: Professor (W3), Department of Economics, UNIVERSITY OF MANNHEIM
10/2012 – 01/2019: Junior professor (W1), Department of Economics, UNIVERSITY OF KONSTANZ
01/2012 – 09/2012: Postdoc, UNIVERSITY OF MANNHEIM, Department of Economics
09/2011 – 12/2011: Trainee, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, DG Economics, Fiscal Policies Division, Frankfurt
01/2011 – 08/2011: Postdoc, UNIVERSITY OF KONSTANZ, Department of Economics / Zukunftskolleg
05/2007 – 09/2008: Research/teaching assistant, UNIVERSITY OF HEIDELBERG, Department of Economics
09/2006 – 12/2006: Investment banking intern, JPMORGAN, Equity Capital Markets, London, UK
05/2005 – 07/2005: Research intern, ZEW MANNHEIM, Dept. for International Finance/Financial Management
Research visits
03/2024 – 04/2024: Visiting researcher, HARVARD UNIVERSITY
08/2019: Visiting researcher, IFO INSTITUTE, Munich (one week)
03/2014 – 04/2014: Visiting researcher, UNIVERSITAT POMPEU FABRA (Host: Patricia Funk)
05/2013 – 07/2013: Visiting researcher, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (Host: Toke S. Aidt)
Education
01/2011: PhD (Dr. rer. pol.) in Economics (summa cum laude), UNIVERSITY OF KONSTANZ
Doctoral Program in "Quantitative Economics and Finance"
07/2006: MSc (Doctorandus) in Economics, MAASTRICHT UNIVERSITY, Netherlands
08/2005 – 12/2005: Exchange semester, UNIVERSITÉ DE MONTRÉAL, Canada
08/2002: Pre-diploma (Propedeuse) in Economics, MAASTRICHT UNIVERSITY
06/2001: High school degree (Abitur), GUTENBERG-GYMNASIUM, Bergheim/Erft, Germany
Professional activities
Since 08/2020: Standing Field Committee on Public Finance of the Verein für Socialpolitik, Elected member
Since 05/2018: European Journal of Political Economy, Member of the Editorial Board
04/2022 - 04/2024: European Public Choice Society, President
04/2018-04/2022: European Public Choice Society (EPCS), Elected member of the Executive Board
08/2019: European Economic Association (EEA), Panelist on "How to Provide and Receive
Quality Feedback in Academia: Strategies for Young Economists", 34th Annual
Congress of the EEA in Manchester
2014 – 2015: International Institute of Public Finance (IIPF), Member of the Scientific Committee for the
71st Annual Congress of the IIPF in Dublin
Grants
2022 - 2025: DFG project (€182.938): “Elections and Public Policy in Times of Crisis”
09/2018 – 2024: DFG project (€643.682): "Politische Selektion in Deutschland" (mit T. Baskaran, U Siegen)
11/2020 – 09/2021: DFG workshop (€16.800): "Elections, institutional reforms, and public policy"
11/2020: Ranked among "Top 40 unter 40" researchers in Germany by the "Capital"
01/2017 – 12/2017: YSF (€6.060): "Political selection and policy choices"
09/2015: GSDS (€5.000): "Political Economy: Theory Meets Empirics" workshop organization
(with M.T. Schneider, U Bath & S. Fehrler, U Konstanz)
01/2014 – 12/2014: YSF (€6.400): "Local governments, political institutions, fiscal outcomes"
01/2013 – 12/2013: YSF (€6.900): "Complexity in direct democracy, voters' decision-making, reforms"
07/2011 – 12/2011: YSF (€2.000): "Public debt, political institutions, successful consolidations"
01/2011 – 06/2011: ZUKUNFTSKOLLEG: Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (ohne Lehrdeputat)
10/2008 – 01/2011: MINISTERIUM F. WISSENSCHAFT, KULTUR UND KUNST BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG: Promotionsstipendium
Workshops Organization
09/2021: "Elections, institutional reforms, and public policy", with M. Lopes da Fonseca (U St. Gallen)
04/2018: "Regional Economics and Local Political Economy", with T. Baskaran (U Siegen)
09/2015: "Political Economy: Theory Meets Empirics", with M. Schneider (U Bath), S. Fehrler (U Konstanz)
Peer-reviewed journals
Conferences
Research Councils
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Last update: Apr 24, 2024
