Award Announcement 2021 (PDF, 639 KB)

The Award

The Award aims to honour the best published paper in a refereed journal on a topic related to the Leading House VPET-ECON. Two additional prizes are awarded as runner-up prizes. The reputation of the journal is considered as one of the main factors for awarding the prize.

Eligible for the award are all papers published in a journal in 2022 that are authored or co-authored by a person working in the Leading House or at one of the two chairs of the Leading House Directors. Additionally, papers of PhD-students officially admitted to the Leading House Course Programme are also eligible. Eligible papers must have been published in the Leading House Working Paper Series until one year after employment at one of the Leading House chairs has ended, or for external PhD-students until one year after the Course Programme is finished.

The jury awarding the Leading House Best Paper Awards consists of the members of the Advisory Board of the Leading House.

2021

We congratulate the winners of the Leading House Best Paper Award 2021, Curdin Pfister and Miriam Koomen, for their paper “Regional innovation effects of applied research institutions" (co-authored with Dietmar Harhoff and Uschi Backes-Gellner), published in Research Policy in 2021.

The runner-up prizes 2021 are awarded to Filippo Pusterla for his paper “Is technological change really skills-biased? Firm-level evidence of the complementarities between ICT and workers' education” (co-authored with Thomas Bolli), published in Economics of Innovation and New Technology in 2021...

...and to Tobias Schlegel and Curdin Pfister for their paper “Innovation effects of universities of applied sciences: an assessment of regional heterogeneity” (co-authored with Dietmar Harhoff and Uschi Backes-Gellner), published in The Journal of Technology Transfer in 2021.

Best Paper Award Ceremony 2021

2020

We congratulate the winner of the Leading House Best Paper Award 2020, Maria Zumbühl, for her paper “Parental involvement and the intergenerational transmission of economic preferences, attitudes and personality traits" (co-authored with Thomas Dohmen and Gerard Pfann), published in The Economic Journal in 2020.

The runner-up prizes 2020 are awarded to Patrick Lehnert for his paper “Employment of R&D personnel after an educational supply shock: Effects of the introduction of Universities of Applied Sciences in Switzerland” (co-authored with Curdin Pfister and Uschi Backes-Gellner), published in Labour Economics in 2020...

...and to Damiano Pregaldini for his paper “Girls' preferences for STEM and the effects of classroom gender composition: New evidence from a natural experiment” (co-authored with Uschi Backes-Gellner and Gerald Eisenkopf), published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization in 2020.

2019

We congratulate the winner of the Leading House Best Paper Award 2019, Insa Weilage, for her paper  “The benefits of adult learning: Work-related training, social capital, and earnings" (co-authored with Jens Ruhose and Stephan L. Thomsen), published in the Economics of Education Review in 2019.

The runner-up prizes 2019 are awarded to Miriam Rinawi for her papers “Labour market transitions after layoffs: The role of occupational skills” (co-authored with Uschi Backes-Gellner) and “Firms’ method of pay and the retention of apprentices” (co-authored with Uschi Backes-Gellner), both published in the Oxford Economic Papers in 2019.

2018

We congratulate the winner of the Leading House Best Paper Award 2018, Jens Mohrenweiser, for his paper "Poaching and firm-sponsored training" (co-authored with Thomas Zwick and Uschi Backes-Gellner), published in the British Journal of Industrial Relations 2018.

The runner-up prizes 2018 are awarded to Aurélien Abrassart for his paper “Do adult foreign residents prefer academic to vocational education? Evidence from a survey of public opinion in Switzerland” (co-authored with Marius R. Busemeyer, Maria A. Cattaneo and Stefan C. Wolter), published in the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 2018...

...and to Mirjam Strupler Leiser for her paper “Hiring costs and labor market tightness” (co-authored with Samuel Mühlemann), published in Labour Economics 2018. Congratulations!

Best Paper Award Ceremony 2018

2017

We congratulate the winners of the Leading House Best Paper Award 2017 (in alphabetical order): Simone Balestra, for his paper (co-authored with Uschi Backes-Gellner) "Heterogeneous returns to education over the wage distrubtion: Who profits the most?”, published in Labour Economics 2017.

Christian Eggenberger and Miriam Rinawi, for their paper (co-authored with Uschi Backes-Gellner) "Occupational specificity: A new measurement based on training curricula and its effect on labor market outcomes”, published in Labour Economics 2017.

Noemi Peter, for her paper (co-authored with Thomas Buser and Stefan Wolter) "Gender, competitiveness and study choices in high school: Evidence from Switzerland”, published in American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings 2017.

Best Paper Award Ceremony 2017

2016

We congratulate the winner of the Leading House Best Paper Award 2016, Samuel Mühlemann, for his paper (co-authored with Harald Pfeifer) "The Structure of Hiring Costs in Germany: Evidence from Firm-Level Data" published in Industrial Relations 2016.

The runner-up prizes 2016 are awarded to Simone Balestra for his paper “When a Door Closes, a Window Opens? Long-Term Labor Market Effects of Involuntary Separations” (co-authored with Uschi Backes-Gellner), published in the German Economic Review 2016...

... and Katherine Caves and Simone Balestra for their paper “The impact of high school exit exams on graduation rates and achievement”, published in The Journal of Educational Research 2016. Congratulations!

Best Paper Award Ceremony 2016

2015

We congratulate the winner of the Leading House Best Paper Award 2015, Samuel Mühlemann, for his paper (co-authored with Marc Blatter, Samuel Schenker and Stefan C. Wolter) "Hiring cost for skilled workers and the supply of firm-provided training" published in the Oxford Economic Papers 2015.

The runner-up prizes 2015 are awarded to Johannes Meuer and Christian Rupietta for their paper “Layers of co-existing innovation systems” (co-authored with Uschi Backes-Gellner), published in Research Policy 2015...

... and Simon Janssen and Simone Tuor Sartore for their paper “Discriminatory social attitudes and varying gender pay gaps within firms” (co-authored with Uschi Backes-Gellner), published in the Industrial and Labor Relations Review 2015. Congratulations!

Best Paper Award Ceremony 2015

2014

We congratulate the winner of the Leading House Best Paper Award 2014, Yvonne Oswald, for her paper (co-authored with Uschi Backes-Gellner) "Learning for a bonus: How financial incentives interact with preferences" published in the Journal of Public Economics 2014.

The runner-up prizes 2014 are awarded to Johannes Kunz for his paper "Analyzing Educational Achievement Differences between Second-Generation Immigrants: Comparing Germany and German-Speaking Switzerland" published in the German Economic Review 2014...

...and Samuel Mühlemann for his paper (co-authored with Ben Kriechel, Harald Pfeifer and Miriam Schütte)"Works Councils, Collective Bargaining, and Apprenticeship Training – Evidence From German Firms" published in Industrial Relations 2014. Congratulations!

Best paper award ceremony 2014

2013

We congratulate the winner of the Leading House Best Paper Award 2013, Samuel Mühlemann, for his paper (co-authored with Paul Ryan and Stefan Wolter) "Monopsony Power, Pay Structure, and Training" published in the Industrial and Labor Relations Review 2013.

The runner-up prize 2013 is awarded to Simon Janssen for his paper (co-authored with Christian Pfeifer, Philip Yang and Uschi Backes-Gellner) "Effects of Training on Employee Suggestions and Promotions: Evidence from Personnel Records" published in Schmalenbach Business Review 2013. Congratulations!

Best paper award ceremony 2013 (Winners of 2012 and 2013)

2012

We congratulate the winner of the Leading House Best Paper Award 2012, Dolores Messer, for her paper (co-authored by Guido Schwerdt, Ludger Woessmann, and Stefan Wolter) "The Impact of an Adult Education Voucher Program: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment" published in the Journal of Public Economics 2012 (with addition mention of her paper (co-authored by Sascha Becker and Stefan Wolter) "A Gift is Not Always a Gift: Heterogeneity and Long-term Effects in a Gift Exchange Experiment" published in Economica 2012).

The runner-up prizes 2012 are awarded to Dr. Regula Geel for her paper (co-authored by Uschi Backes-Gellner) "Earning while Learning: When and How Student Employment is Beneficial" published in LABOUR 2012...

...and Dr. Samuel Muehlemann for his paper (co-authored by Romy Braendli and Stefan Wolter) "Invest in the best or compensate the weak? An empirical analysis of the heterogeneity of a firm's provision of human capital" published in Evidence-Based HRM 2012. Congratulations!

2011

We congratulate the winner of the Leading House Best Paper Award 2011, Dr. Samuel Mühlemann, for his paper (co-authored by Marc Blatter and Samuel Schenker) "The costs of hiring skilled workers" published online in European Economic Review 2011.

The runner-up prizes 2011 are awarded to Dr. Katja Görlitz for her paper "Continuous training and wages: An empirical analysis using a comparison-group approach" published in Economics of Education Review 2011...

...Dr. Samuel Mühlemann for his paper (co-authored by Stefan C. Wolter) "Firm sponsored training and poaching externalities in regional labor markets" published in Regional Science and Urban Economics 2011...

...and Prof. Dr. Jürg Schweri for his paper (co-authored by Joop Hartog and Stefan C. Wolter) "Do students expect compensation for wage risk?" published in Economics of Education Review 2011. Congratulations!

Best paper award ceremony 2011

2010

We congratulate the winner of the Leading House Best Paper Award 2010, Dr. Katja Görlitz, for her paper "The effect of subsidizing continuous training investments - Evidence from German establishment data" published in Labour Economics 2010.

The runner-up prizes 2010 are awarded to Dr. Simone N. Tuor Sartore for her paper "Avoiding labor shortages by employer signaling" published in the Industrial and Labor Relations Review 2010...

...and Dr. Samuel Mühlemann, Harald Pfeifer, Dr. Günter Walden, and Felix Wenzelmann for their paper "The financing of apprenticeship training in the light of labor market regulations" published in Labour Economics 2010. Congratulations!

Best paper award ceremony 2010

2009

We congratulate the winners of the Leading House Best Paper Award 2009, Jens Mohrenweiser and Prof. Dr. Thomas Zwick, for their paper "Why do firms train apprentices? The net cost puzzle reconsidered" published in Labour Economics 2009.

The runner-up prizes 2009 are awarded to Stefan Denzler for his paper "Sorting into teacher education: how the institutional setting matters" published in Cambridge Journal of Education 2009...

...and Maria Cattaneo for her paper "Are the elderly a threat to educational expenditures?" published in European Journal of Political Economy 2009. Congratulations!

2008

The winners of the Leading House Best Paper Award 2008 are Prof. Dr. Thomas Zwick and Dr. Thomas Hempell for their paper
"New Technology, Work Organisation, and Innovation" published in Economics of Innovation and New Technology 2008.

The runner-up prize 2008 is awarded to Dr. Stephan Veen for his paper "The consequences of central examinations on educational quality standards and labour market outcomes" published in Oxford Review of Education 2008. Congratulations!