Aiko Schmeißer

I am a PhD student at the Berlin School of Economics and the University of Potsdam. In the spring term of 2024, I visited the Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard University as a research fellow. 

I will be on the job market in the fall of 2024.

My research interests lie in the fields of Labor Economics and Political Economy. I am particularly interested in the formation of beliefs and preferences in labor market contexts. 

If you would like to know more, you can find my CV here.


Working Papers

Do Unions Shape Political Ideologies at Work? (with Johannes Matzat)

CESifo Working Paper No. 10301, Latest version,  Twitter thread. 

Awarded 2nd place of the European Public Choice Society Wicksell Prize 2023 

Abstract: Labor unions’ greatest potential for political influence likely arises from their direct connection to millions of individuals at the workplace. There, they may change the ideological positions of both unionizing workers and their non-unionizing management. In this paper, we analyze the workplace-level impact of unionization on workers’ and managers’ political campaign contributions over the 1980-2016 period in the United States. To do so, we link establishment-level union election data with transaction-level campaign contributions to federal and local candidates. In a difference-in-differences design that we validate with regression discontinuity tests and a novel instrumental variables approach, we find that unionization leads to a leftward shift of campaign contributions. Unionization increases the support for Democrats relative to Republicans not only among workers but also among managers, which speaks against an increase in political cleavages between the two groups. We provide evidence that our results are not driven by compositional changes of the workforce and are weaker in states with Right-to-Work laws where unions can invest fewer resources in political activities. 

The Accuracy of Job Seekers' Wage Expectations (with Marco Caliendo, Robert Mahlstedt, and Sophie Wagner)

IZA Discussion Paper No. 17198. 

Abstract: We study the accuracy of job seekers’ wage expectations by comparing subjective beliefs to objective benchmarks using linked administrative and survey data. Our findings show that especially job seekers with low objective earnings potential and those predicted to face a penalty compared to their pre-unemployment wage display overly optimistic wage expectations. Moreover, wage optimism is amplified by increased job search incentives and job seekers with overoptimistic wage expectations tend to overestimate their reemployment chances. We discuss the labor market implications of wage optimism, as well as the role of information frictions and motivated beliefs as sources of overoptimism.

Work in Progress

Job Loss and Political Entry (with Laura Barros)

Racial Peer Effects at Work: Evidence from Worker Deaths in Brazil (with Katharina Fietz)

Pre-PhD Publications