The First Bonn-Frankfurt-Mannheim PhD Conference, held on 5 and 6 May 2023, brought together Ph.D. students in economics and finance from Bonn, Frankfurt, and Mannheim. The event, organized by Ph.D. students from the graduate schools of the participating universities, aimed to provide a platform for young researchers to showcase their work, exchange new ideas, and expand their professional network.
The conference featured an extensive program comprising nearly 90 presentations by Ph.D. students in various areas of economics and finance. One of the program’s highlights was a panel discussion on the academic and non-academic job market with Nicolas Ziebarth (Professor at the University of Mannheim and Head of the Research Unit "Labor Markets and Social Insurance" at the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research ["Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung", ZEW] Mannheim), Alessandra Allocca (Assistant Professor at Ludwig Maximilians University Munich), and Lorenzo Pessina (Economist at Amazon, former Postdoctoral Researcher at ZEW). Drawing on their own experiences, the panelists provided invaluable insights into both the academic and non-academic job markets. Lorenzo Pessina remembered that he would have liked to know more about potential job opportunities for graduating Ph.D. students in economics and finance. He advised students to actively seek information about jobs in the private sector and to connect with potential employers. Nicolas Ziebarth emphasized the significance of thorough preparation when engaging with faculty members in the academic job market. He stressed that, in addition to an outstanding job market paper, social and networking skills play a crucial role in securing the desired academic placement. Alessandra Allocca addressed the essential question of what makes an exceptional job market paper, recommending that the audience view it as a reflection of their creativity, research interests, and methodological skills.
Another highlight of the conference was the keynote address delivered by Ulrike Malmendier. As a Professor of Finance at the Haas School of Business and Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, Ulrike Malmendier also holds positions on the SAFE Research Advisory Board and the German Council of Economic Experts. Her presentation, "Behavioral Economics 3.0 - The Roles of Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, Medicine, and Biology," provided a concise overview of the field's history before delving into further avenues for future research on the biological and psychological determinants of economic and financial decision-making.
The conference was organized jointly by Marcel Brambeer, Dominik Damast, Paul Grass, Sebastian Hildebrand, and Martin Kornejew from the University of Bonn; Frederik Horn, Chiara Malavasi, Clemens Müller and Felix Rusche from the University of Mannheim; Nicole Karnaus, Lena Liebich, and Celina Proffen from Goethe University Frankfurt; and Sophie-Dorothee Rotermund and Paulina Verhoff from the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.
The organizing committee would like to thank ECONtribute, the Goethe University Frankfurt, the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, the Graduate School of Economics, Finance and Management (GSEFM), the Graduate School of Economic and Social Science (GESS) at the University of Mannheim, and the Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE for co-sponsoring the two-day conference.
