Steffen Altmann

Steffen Altmann serves as Professor of Economics at the University of Würzburg and Director of the research unit "Behavioral Economics and Labor Market Performance" at the University of Copenhagen. He maintains an active association with IZA (Institute of Labor Economics) as an Associated Member following leadership roles including Team Leader of the "Personalized Labor Market Policy" research team (2019-2023) and Deputy Program Director for "Behavioral and Personnel Economics" (2007-2014).

He earned his Economics degree from the University of Mannheim and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Bonn in 2009, establishing foundational expertise in experimental methodologies.

Altmann's research synthesizes behavioral economics, labor economics, and organizational economics to investigate how psychological factors and cognitive constraints interact with economic incentives. His work particularly examines job search dynamics, unemployment duration, and labor market program efficacy through rigorous field experiments, with significant contributions to understanding relational contracts and incentive psychology.

His publication trajectory from 2005-2016 reveals an evolution from foundational studies on default effects and cognitive spillovers toward contemporary analyses of digital job search platforms and UI benefit comprehension. This body of work consistently applies behavioral insights to real-world policy design, primarily disseminated through IZA Discussion Papers with subsequent journal publications in top-tier outlets.

No public information exists regarding his students or specific research grants, though his directorship roles indicate substantial research leadership. His current focus centers on the Copenhagen-based research unit analyzing behavioral determinants of labor market performance.