Benjamin Born

Benjamin Born serves as Professor of Macroeconomics at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management and Research Director at the ifo Institute. He is a Research Fellow at CEPR and CESifo, advises the European Commission's DG ECFIN, serves on the European Parliament's Expert Group on Monetary Policy, and sits on the CEPR–EABCN Euro Area Business Cycle Dating Committee. Starting in September 2025, he will join the University of Bonn as Professor of Macroeconomics.

Education

• PhD in Economics, 2011, University of Bonn, Germany
• MSc in Econometrics and Economics, 2007, University of York, UK
• BA/MA in Economics, 2006, University of Siegen, Germany

Professor Born's research focuses on business cycles, fiscal and monetary policy, heterogeneous agent models, and empirical methods in macroeconomics. His work bridges theoretical modeling with empirical analysis, often using innovative data sources including firm surveys and social media data. He has made significant contributions to understanding how monetary policy affects different segments of the economy, how fiscal policy transmits through various channels, and how firms form expectations about the future.

His recent publications reveal a strong trend toward analyzing heterogeneous effects in macroeconomics, particularly examining how different groups (firms, workers, consumers) respond differently to economic shocks and policies. His work increasingly incorporates social media data and novel survey methodologies to capture real-time economic behavior. A significant portion of his research addresses policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, including fiscal stimulus packages and lockdown effects.

Professor Born is actively involved in the academic community, serving on the editorial boards of the Journal of Monetary Economics and the European Economic Review. He regularly organizes major academic conferences including the BASEforHANK Winterschool and the ifo Conference on Macroeconomics and Survey Data.

Teaching and Supervision

• Currently teaches Macroeconomics II (first-year Ph.D. course at BGSE)
• Has taught Macroeconomics and Econometrics at all levels
• Supervises theses in macroeconomics and applied econometrics