Topics

Topics/Themen of the summer term 2025:

1. Lead Exposure and Health

2. Pesticides and Health

3. Shocks to Supply- Organ Donations and Policy

4. Publish or Perish? The Importance of Citations for Academic Careers

5. Birthweight Manipulation and Hospital Reimbursement

6. Police Violence and Educational Outcomes

7. Surname Initials and Academic Success

8. COVID-19 Mobility Restrictions and Crimes

9. Gender Bias in the Publishing Process

10. Natural Catastrophes and Fertility

11. Media and Racial Hate

12. Migration and Political Preferences

13. Additional Demand for Donations and Substitution Effects

14. School Meals and Child Outcomes

15. News Media and Anti-Immigrant Attitudes

16. Naturalization and Child Outcomes

17. Efficacy of Gun Control Laws

18. Determinants of Organ Donations

19. Longer School Days and Educational Attainment

20. Chess and Education Performance

21. Gender and Leadership

22. Immigration and School Performance of Natives

23. Determinants of Judge Decisions

24. Behavioral Impacts of Air Pollution

25. Parenthood and Earnings Penalties

26. Health Effects of Medicaid Expansion

27. Labor Market Conditions of Sex Workers

28. Bartik Instruments in Migration Research

29. Sports Facilities and Ripple Effect

30. Social Media and Daily Activities

Suggesting an own bachelor thesis topic-guidelines for the application:

In case you want to write your bachelor thesis on a self-chosen topic, we would ask you to consider the following points in your application:

Provide a (causal) research question for your topic (e.g. "Does an increase in x cause an increase in y?", "Does policy x cause a reduction in y?"...)!

Suggest 2-3 empirical papers that tackle the suggested research question! Look for papers that make use of counterfactual methods i.e. Regression Discontinuity Designs, Difference-in-Differences, Instrumental variables, (Propensity Score) Matching, Synthetic Control Method.

Write a short motivation for the topic: Why is the topic relevant? Provide context on the policy/main explanatory variable you want to investigate! Why is the topic interesting? Four to five sentences should suffice.

In case the suggested topic is not suitable for a thesis at our chair, please signal whether you would be willing to write a thesis on a topic suggested by the chair (see list below) or you would prefer writing your thesis at another chair!