Ines Helm

Ines Helm serves as Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics within the Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics & Business at Johannes Kepler University Linz. Her research program focuses on critical issues in applied economics and labor markets, with particular expertise in local labor market dynamics, wage inequality, job displacement effects, and labor market power structures. At JKU Linz, she teaches advanced courses including Advanced Microeconometrics, Regional Labor Markets, and Labor Economics.

Dr. Helm earned her PhD from University College London's Department of Economics and Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration. Prior to her current position, she held academic appointments as Assistant Professor at Stockholm University and Associate Professor at LMU Munich, establishing an international research profile before joining JKU Linz.

Her research examines how structural economic changes impact workers, particularly investigating wage dynamics following manufacturing sector displacement, the prevalence of labor market power in wage setting, and heterogeneity in workplace wage growth patterns. Helm's methodological approach typically leverages large-scale administrative datasets and sophisticated econometric techniques to address policy-relevant questions about labor market functioning.

Helm's publication record demonstrates consistent contributions to top economics journals including the Review of Economic Studies, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, and Journal of Urban Economics. Her work shows a clear progression from examining trade shock impacts on local labor markets to more recent investigations of fiscal policy responses and gig economy trends, reflecting both methodological sophistication and policy relevance.

• Young Labour Economist Prize (2017) from the European Association of Labour Economists
• Project leader at Rockwool Foundation Berlin
• Research associate at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB)
• Member of CEPR, CesIfo, and IZA research networks

Currently leading the research project 'Active Learning in Firms and the Sources of Wage Inequality' (2025-2027), Professor Helm maintains an active research agenda examining how on-the-job training and skill development contribute to wage disparities. Her extensive professional network includes collaborations with researchers across Europe and affiliations with major economic research institutions including the Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration at UCL and the Regional Economics Committee of the German Economic Association.