Michael Hilweg

Michael Hilweg is a Doctoral Student and PhD candidate in Economics at the University of Mannheim's Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences. He is expected to complete his PhD in 2026 under the supervision of Henrik Orzen. His academic journey includes an MSc in Economics (2018) and BA in Economics (2016), both from Karl-Franzens University of Graz, where he also spent a semester at the University of Udine through a double degree program.

His educational background includes significant teaching experience as a Teaching Assistant for Introductory Microeconomics (Spring 2024, 2023), Business Economics II (Spring 2022), and Principles of Economics (2015-2017). Prior to his doctoral studies, he worked as a tutor and student assistant at the Chair of Economics in Graz, participated in the Advanced Studies Program at IfW Kiel, served as a research assistant at the Forecasting Center, and worked in risk management at a medium-sized bank in Graz.

Michael's research primarily focuses on behavioral and experimental economics, with specific interests in charitable giving and the role of (biased) beliefs in people's educational and career choices. His work examines how gender stereotypes affect competitive behavior, how procedural factors influence tax deduction for charitable donations, and how choice complexity impacts matching mechanisms. He employs both laboratory and field experimental methods to investigate these questions, often collaborating with established researchers like Argun Aman, Ben Greiner, and others.

His current research portfolio demonstrates a strong emphasis on understanding the psychological and social factors that influence economic decision-making, particularly in contexts involving gender differences, charitable behavior, and educational choices. Michael is scheduled to visit Ben Greiner at WU Wien from December 2024 to February 2025 to further develop his research agenda.

As an active researcher, Michael has presented his work through posters and is preparing several publications. His technical skills include experimental design and implementation, with repositories on GitHub showing work on charity experiments, lab experiments, and payment surveys.

Outside of academia, Michael enjoys learning foreign languages, training for triathlon competitions, and reading both fiction and non-fiction.