Volksbank Weinheim Stiftung and ZEW Grant Research Award for the Seventh Time
Awards
The Volksbank Weinheim Stiftung in cooperation with ZEW Mannheim have granted the research award “Zukunft der Arbeitswelt” (“Future World of Work”) for the seventh time. Dr. Steffen Viete received the award for the best doctoral thesis. The prize for the best master’s thesis in economics went to Katia Gallegos Torres. The award was presented at yesterday’s New Year’s reception of the Volksbank Weinheim. Thomas Kohl, director of ZEW and member of the jury that awards the science prize, held the laudatory speech on the two winners.
With the research award, ZEW and the Volksbank Weinheim Stiftung honour theses that combine academic excellence with practical relevance and that stand out through both an empirical focus and an original topic. Steffen Viete’s doctoral thesis “Empirical Essays on Digitization, Work Organization and Firm Performance” deals with the effect of digital change on firm productivity on the one hand and on labour conditions and employee opportunities on the other. “Mr. Viete contributes to clarifying to what extent recent developments in digital technology are prompting companies to offer more flexibility and autonomy to their staff. He shows how these developments influence the economic performance of companies,” says Thomas Kohl, summarising the jury’s decision.
Impact of refugee migration on election results
In her master’s thesis, entitled “The Electoral Winners of Refugee Migration in Germany: Evidence from a Natural Experiment and Subjective Beliefs”, Katia Gallegos Torres examines how the influx of refugees in 2015 influenced the success of populist parties in German state elections and the attitudes of citizens. “Thematically, the master’s thesis fits exactly into the profile of the research award, since economic and political effects of migration often make themselves felt via the labour market and social security systems,” said Thomas Kohl in his laudatory speech.
Katia Gallegos Torres studied economics at the Universidad del Pacífico in Lima, Peru, and at the University of Mannheim, where she completed her master’s thesis. Dr. Steffen Viete, a researcher in ZEW’s “Digital Economy” Department, received his doctorate from Goethe University in Frankfurt in 2018.
Besides Thomas Kohl, six other members of the Volksbank Weinheim Stiftung and ZEW are on the jury for the science award. The annual award for the best master’s thesis is endowed with 2,000 euros; the author of the best doctoral thesis receives 3,000 euros.