Carina Neisser

Carina Neisser is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Economics at the University of Cologne and a Junior Research Associate at ZEW (Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research), working closely with the Research Unit 'Inequality and Public Policy'. She is a member of the ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy Cluster of Excellence and affiliated with the IZA – Institute of Labor Economics. As of summer 2025, she holds an interim W3 professorship in Public Economics at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf.

Dr. Neisser obtained her PhD from the University of Mannheim in 2021, with prior experience as a researcher at ZEW and as a visiting doctoral student at the University of California, Berkeley and Stockholm University.

Her research focuses on the intersection of public economics, political economy, and applied microeconometrics, with particular emphasis on behavioral responses to taxation and the effectiveness of transparency initiatives. She investigates how public disclosure laws affect politicians' behavior and voter perceptions, as well as methodological issues in economic research such as p-hacking and data-sharing practices.

Her publication record includes articles in top journals like The Economic Journal, with recent work examining the elasticity of taxable income, p-hacking in economics research, and the political economy of outside income disclosure by politicians. Her research demonstrates methodological rigor in applied microeconometrics while addressing pressing policy questions.

She has received recognition through several prestigious awards:

• ZIA-Fellow (cohort 2022/23)
• Add-on Fellowship for Interdisciplinary Economics from the Joachim Herz Foundation

Dr. Neisser has contributed to significant policy work for German government institutions, including research on child benefits for the Bertelsmann Foundation and analyses of public services for the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Her work bridges academic research and practical policy applications, particularly in tax policy and public finance.

She is actively involved with multiple research centers including the Center for Social and Economic Behavior (C-SEB) and maintains strong connections with international research institutions through her visiting positions at Berkeley and Stockholm University.