Bertel Schjerning

Bertel Schjerning is a Professor at the Department of Economics within the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. He heads the Center for Computational Economics (CCE) and is affiliated with the Center for Applied Microeconometrics (CAM) and Economic Policy Research Unit (EPRU). His research focuses on computational methods for solving and estimating dynamic economic models.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Economics, University of Copenhagen (2007)

Schjerning specializes in structural microeconometrics and numerical dynamic programming, developing techniques to solve and estimate models of intertemporal economic behavior under uncertainty. His applied work has focused on entrepreneurial behavior including savings, human capital accumulation, entry/exit decisions, and job creation. Recent research examines household car ownership, usage patterns, and strategic investment behavior of duopoly firms. His publications demonstrate expertise in dynamic programming models, dynamic games, and computational economics with applications across multiple economic subfields.

His extensive publication record shows a progression from entrepreneurship and labor economics toward sophisticated computational methods for dynamic structural models, with increasing focus on machine learning integration in recent years. The research spans theoretical methodology development and empirical applications in transportation, industrial organization, and public finance.

Awards:

• The Invisible Hand (2010): Teaching award for best teacher at the Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen

Schjerning has supervised numerous PhD students, both as main supervisor and co-supervisor. He has secured significant research funding including grants from the Danish Council for Independent Research (DFF), Danish Strategic Research Foundation (DSF), and European Policy Research Network (EPRN) totaling over 12 million DKK for projects on dynamic games, road user charging, and tax behavior. He regularly teaches PhD courses internationally at institutions including University College London, Yale, and Zurich University.

Schjerning established and leads the Center for Computational Economics (CCE), focusing on computational challenges in economics with emphasis on dynamic games and programming models. He maintains strong international connections, collaborating with top researchers at Georgetown, Yale, UNSW, UCL, and other leading institutions worldwide.