Tomáš Jagelka

Tomáš Jagelka is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Applied Microeconomics at the University of Bonn and a member of the ECONtribute Cluster of Excellence. He also maintains affiliations as a CREST affiliate, IZA Research Affiliate, and recurrent Visiting Scholar at Dartmouth College's Department of Economics. Previously, he collaborated with James Heckman at the University of Chicago's Center for the Economics of Human Development.

His research bridges economic and psychological frameworks for understanding human behavior, with particular focus on structural econometric methods to measure preferences and skills. Jagelka's work establishes connections between economic parameters (like risk and time preferences) and psychological personality traits. His current ERC-funded FELICITAS project aims to identify essential personal attributes that matter for a good life, with the goal of informing policy design for equalizing opportunities.

Jagelka's publications demonstrate a consistent focus on the intersection of economics and psychology, particularly examining how personality traits relate to economic decision-making. His research employs structural estimation techniques to analyze preferences, skills, and behavioral patterns across different contexts including labor markets and consumer behavior.

His scientific recognition includes:

• Best PhD in economics defended in France (French Economic Association, 2019)
• Best paper by PhD student (International Association for Applied Econometrics, 2019)
• Best paper by economist under 35 (Slovak Economic Association, 2020)
• Elected Fellow of the Slovak Economic Association (2023)
• ERC Starting Grant (2024) for project 'FELICITAS'

Jagelka has secured significant research funding, most notably a €1.5 million ERC Starting Grant in 2024. His work has established experimental collaborations, including with the Laboratory Schools at the University of Chicago. He actively collaborates with researchers across multiple countries, reflecting his international scholarly network.

His research group focuses on developing methods to better measure economic preferences and personality traits, with applications in labor economics, health economics, and policy design. The FELICITAS project represents a major ongoing research initiative examining the relationship between personal attributes and well-being.