Stefan Schmidt

Stefan Schmidt is a Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, specializing in Behavioral & Experimental Economics. His research explores how social identity influences belief formation and political polarization, using both lab and field experiments.

Key research themes include:

• Behavioral drivers in intergroup status contests
• Belief updating mechanisms under identity salience
• Immigration policy preferences and integration beliefs
• Selection neglect in polarized environments

Recent talks presented at UCSD, ESA Helsinki, and M-BEES Maastricht highlight his focus on identity-related behavioral dynamics. Collaborations with prominent economists like Matthias Sutter and Zvonimir Bašić demonstrate his interdisciplinary approach.