I am an empirical social scientist, trained in sociology and empirical microeconomics. Currently, I am holding the position of a post-doc researcher at the State Institute for Family Research at the University of Bamberg, Germany, heading the institute's regional family reporting unit. Alongside this, my research focuses on the subjective evaluation of objective living conditions of families. From my first glimpse into happiness economics, I was excited by the emancipatory notion of subjective well-being data. Too often, we researchers elevate ourselves over the observations in our datasets, defining, for example, poverty lines or thresholds of housing cost overburdening, or the financial needs for additional family members, etc. Subjective well-being measures give voice to the observed individuals by asking them to evaluate their situation according to their own criteria. In doing so, we admit that others might not know both the potentials and burdens of the situation and the individuals’ criteria for a good life. Listening and trying to understand divergences between subjective evaluations and objective measures of the same situation pushes research forward to both broader and deeper understanding. Topics that I am currently working on are income satisfaction, subjective housing cost burden, and the well-being of single parents.
2. How has being a part of ISQOLS benefited your work/research?
A core conviction in my work is that objective and subjective data are most powerful in combination: where one is easily comparable and communicable, the other reveals potentials and burdens that would otherwise be hidden in residuals. ISQOLS has provided an ideal environment to develop this perspective further. What I especially value about the Society is its interdisciplinarity. It has brought me into contact with questions, perspectives, and people I would not have encountered otherwise – and practically speaking, this allowed me to maintain a continuous connection even across changing from the micro-economics chair to the family research institute. At the same time, ISQOLS is large enough to sustain a critical mass of researchers around specific sub-topics, making exchanges genuinely productive. Beyond the easily communicable advantages that come with the objective features of the Society, its subjective value for me is rooted in the kind atmosphere among its members: The respectful, open engagement and true kindness constitute a climate that benefits both personal and professional growth – and are the reason why I look forward to meeting the ISQOLS group time and again.
