Tobias Wolbring

Professor Tobias Wolbring holds the Chair of Empirical Economic Sociology at the Department of Economics and Social Sciences at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU). His academic career spans prestigious institutions including LMU Munich, ETH Zurich, and the University of Mannheim. At FAU, he contributes to the Department of Business, Economics, and Social Sciences which ranks among Germany's top 20 faculties in business administration and economics according to the Handelsblatt ranking.

Wolbring earned his sociology degree with minors in economics and social psychology from LMU Munich in 2007, followed by a doctorate with distinction in 2013. His academic journey includes positions as research assistant at LMU Munich (2008-2013), postdoc at ETH Zurich (2013/14), junior professor at University of Mannheim (2015-2017), and full professor at FAU since 2017.

His research focuses on analytical sociology, empirical educational/university/science research, life satisfaction, methods of empirical social research, social inequality, social norms & deviance, and economic sociology. Wolbring's work demonstrates a strong methodological orientation with emphasis on longitudinal data analysis, experimental methods, and innovative approaches to social research.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals a consistent focus on social inequality, well-being dynamics, methodological innovation in social research, and the intersection of economic and social phenomena. His work frequently employs advanced statistical techniques and experimental designs to address complex social questions, with particular attention to causal mechanisms in social processes.

• Dissertation Prize of the German Sociological Association (DGS) in 2014
• Anatol Rapoport Prize of the DGS Section 'Modeling and Simulation' in 2014
• Robert K. Merton Prize of the International Network of Analytical Sociology in 2017

Wolbring serves as co-editor of the SSCI-listed journal 'Soziale Welt' since 2013 and was a board member of the DGS Section 'Methods of Empirical Social Research' from 2013 to 2021. His work connects with FAU's research focuses on work in transition, digitalization, and interdisciplinary social science approaches. He actively contributes to the university's strong research profile in empirical social sciences and collaborates with various research networks across Germany and internationally.