Thorsten Schank is Professor of Applied Statistics and Econometrics at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). He studied economics at the Universities of Mainz and Heidelberg in Germany and at the University of Manchester in the UK, where he completed his PhD in 2001.

Following his doctorate, he worked as a researcher at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) and as an Assistant Professor at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg. He joined Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in 2010.

His research combines econometric methods with applied economic analysis to study questions in labour economics and industrial relations, including the effects of minimum wages on wage inequality, employment, and working hours. His work has been published in international journals, including the Journal of International Economics, Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Public Economics, and the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A. In one of his current projects, he examines how the Ahr Valley flood affected labour market outcomes and regional mobility.

Publications in Refereed Journals:

  • “A 22 percent increase in the German minimum wage: nothing crazy!”, The German Economic Review,forthcoming (with M. Bossler and L. Chittka)
  • “The devil is in the details: Heterogeneous effects of the German minimum wage on working hours and minijobs”, Journal of Public Economics, 253 (2026): 105540 (with M. Bossler and Y. Liang) doi:10.1016/j.jpubeco.2025.105540
  • “Do supplementary jobs for welfare recipients increase the chance of welfare exit?”, Industrial Relations, 63/3 (2024): 291–324 (with A. Mosthaf and S. Schwarz) doi:10.1111/irel.12339
  • “Wage inequality in Germany after the minimum wage introduction”, Journal of Labor Economics, 41/3 (2023): 813–856 (with M. Bossler) doi:10.1086/720391
  • “Labor demand responses to changing gas prices”, The BE Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy,23/4 (2023): 1073–1080 (with M. Bossler and A. Moog) doi:10.1515/bejeap-2023-0114
  • “A practical approach to overcoming biases in comparing student performance in higher education”, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education,48/6 (2022): 834–846 (with K. Pastor, O. Troitschanskaia and K. Wälde) doi:10.1080/02602938.2022.2134841
  • “Does the internet increase the job finding rate? Evidence from a period of internet expansion”, Information Economics and Policy, 55 (2021): 100900 (with M. Denzer and R. Upward) doi:10.1016/j.infoecopol.2020.100900
  • “Are Female Managers More Likely to Hire More Female Managers? Evidence from Germany”, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 73/3 (2020): 676–704 (with M. Bossler and A. Mosthaf) doi:10.1177/0019793919862509
  • “The Second Glass Ceiling: Women’s Role in Supervisory Boards of German Firms”, Schmalenbach Business Review, 71/3 (2019): 385–411 (with V. Bozhinov and C. Koch) doi:10.1007/s41464-018-0063-1
  • “Do foreign workers reduce trade barriers? Microeconomic evidence”, The World Economy, 40/9 (2017): 1750–1774 (with M.J. Andrews and R. Upward) doi:10.1111/twec.12486
  • “Employment effects of longer working hours”, IZA World of Labor, 216 (2015) doi:10.15185/izawol.216
  • “Does the plant size-wage differential increase with tenure? Affirming evidence from German panel data”, Economics Letters, 135 (2015): 9–11 (with D. Fackler and C. Schnabel) doi:10.1016/j.econlet.2015.07.023
  • “More hours, more jobs? The employment effects of longer working hours”, Oxford Economic Papers, 67/2 (2015): 245–268 (with M.J. Andrews, H.D. Gerner and R. Upward) doi:10.1093/oep/gpu026
  • “Low-wage employment versus unemployment: Which one provides better prospects for women?”, IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, 3/21 (2014) (with A. Mosthaf and C. Schnabel)
  • “Foreign-owned firms around the world: a comparative analysis of wages and employment at the micro-level”, European Economic Review, 60 (2013): 170–188 (with A. Hijzen, P. Martins and R. Upward)
  • “Wage cyclicality under different regimes of industrial relations”, Industrial Relations,52/2 (2013): 516–540 (with H. Gartner and C. Schnabel)
  • “The institutional context of an empirical law: The wage curve under different regimes of collective bargaining”, British Journal of Industrial Relations,51/1 (2013): 59–79 (with U. Blien, W. Dauth and C. Schnabel)
  • “High wage workers match with high wage firms: clear evidence of the effects of limited mobility bias”, Economics Letters,117/3 (2012): 824–827 (with M.J. Andrews, L. Gill and R. Upward)
  • “Foreign-owned plants and job security”, Review of World Economics, 148/1 (2012): 89–117 (with M.J. Andrews, L. Bellmann and R. Upward)
  • “Differences in labor supply to monopsonistic firms and the gender pay gap: an empirical analysis using linked employer-employee data from Germany”, Journal of Labor Economics,28/2 (2010): 291–330 (with B. Hirsch and C. Schnabel)
  • “The impact of financial participation on workers’ compensation”, Journal for Labour Market Research,43/1 (2010): 72–89 (with M. Andrews, L. Bellmann and R. Upward)
  • “Works councils and separations: voice, monopoly, and insurance effects”, Industrial Relations,49/4 (2010): 566–592 (with B. Hirsch and C. Schnabel)
  • “Higher wages in exporting firms: self-selection, export effect, or both? First evidence from German linked employer-employee data”, Review of World Economics,146/2 (2010): 303–322 (with C. Schnabel and J. Wagner)
  • “Low-wage earners: Who manages to reach higher wage levels?”, Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik / Journal of Economics and Statistics,229/5 (2009): 584–614 (with C. Schnabel and J. Stephani)
  • “The takeover and selection effects of foreign ownership in Germany: an analysis using linked worker-firm data”, Review of World Economics,145/2 (2009): 293–317 (with M.J. Andrews, L. Bellmann and R. Upward)
  • “Stimulating part-time work by legal entitlements? Evidence from a German policy experiment”, Applied Economics Letters,16/4 (2009): 391–394 (with H.D. Gerner and C. Schnabel)
  • “High wage workers and low wage firms: negative assortative matching or limited mobility bias”, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A,171/3 (2008): 673–697 (with M.J. Andrews, L. Gill and R. Upward)
  • “The demand for labor: an analysis using matched employer-employee data from the German LIAB. Will the high unskilled worker own-wage elasticity please stand up?”, Journal of Labor Research,29/2 (2008): 114–137 (with J.T. Addison, L. Bellmann and P. Teixeira)
  • “Do exporters really pay higher wages? First evidence from linked employer-employee data”, Journal of International Economics,72/1 (2007): 52–74 (with C. Schnabel and J. Wagner)
  • “Interne Arbeitsmärkte und Einsatz temporärer Arbeitsverhältnisse: Eine Fallstudie mit Daten eines deutschen Dienstleistungsunternehmens”, Zeitschrift für Betriebswirtschaft,77/11 (2007): 1159–1177 (mit M. Oberst and C. Schnabel)
  • “Do works councils inhibit investment?”, Industrial and Labor Relations Review,60/2 (2007): 187–203 (with J.T. Addison, C. Schnabel and J. Wagner)
  • “Practical fixed effects estimation methods for the three-way error components model”, The Stata Journal, 6/4 (2006): 461–481 (with M.J. Andrews and R. Upward)
  • “Works councils, labor productivity and plant heterogeneity: First evidence from quantile regressions”, Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik / Journal of Economics and Statistics, 226/5 (2006): 505–518 (with J.T. Addison, C. Schnabel and J. Wagner)
  • “German works councils in the production process”, Schmollers Jahrbuch / Journal of Applied Social Science Studies,126/2 (2006): 251–283 (with J.T. Addison, C. Schnabel and J. Wagner)
  • “Have employees in Germany received full wage compensation after a cut in standard hours?”, The Manchester School,74/3 (2006): 273–293
  • “Betrieblicher Einsatz befristeter Beschäftigung”, Sozialer Fortschritt,54/9 (2005): 211–220 (mit A. Fritsch)
  • “Are overtime plants more efficient than standard-time plants? A stochastic production frontier analysis using the IAB Establishment Panel”, Empirical Economics,30/3 (2005): 693–710
  • “Does worksharing work? Some empirical evidence from the IAB Establishment Panel”, Scottish Journal of Political Economy,52/2 (2005): 141–176 (with M.J. Andrews and R. Simmons)
  • “Works councils – sand or grease in the operation of German firms?”, Applied Economics Letters,11/3 (2004): 159–161 (with C. Schnabel and J. Wagner)
  • “Die Beschäftigung von Un- und Angelernten – Eine Analyse mit dem Linked Employer-Employee Datensatz des IAB”, Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, 36/3 (2003): 257–270
  • “Flexibilität der Qualifikationsstruktur aus betrieblicher Sicht: Substitutionalität oder Komplementarität”, Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik / Journal of Economics and Statistics, 219/1–2 (1999): 109–126 (mit L. Bellmann and S. Bender)