Today at Brown

A rising star in the field of econometrics, Stefan Hoderlein sees his work as “providing blueprints” for how to apply structural economic models to data. He is particularly focused on the areas of non-parametric econometrics and heterogeneous population modeling. That is, he studies methods that are needed to implement economic theory in a less restrictive way than previously done.

“Many economic theories are focused on the behavior of individuals, but obviously there are enormous differences in individuals’ behavior,” Hoderlein explained. “My work focuses on how to model a population consisting of different individuals and how to bridge the gap between theory and data for such a population of diverse individuals.”

Hoderlein attended Bonn University and the London School of Economics, earning his Ph.D. in 2002. The following year, he was selected to present his Ph.D. research to the European Economic Association and Econometric Society winter conference which features a small group of select individuals. He was also awarded a €50,000 grant as an “Elite Young Researcher” of the Land Baden-Württemberg.

Hoderlein has held teaching positions at the University of Mannheim, the California Institute of Technology, and, most recently, Toulouse University. He served as a visiting assistant professor at Brown last fall and co-taught a graduate course on econometrics with Anthony Lancaster, professor emeritus of economics. Andrew Foster, chair of the Department of Economics says the course was well received by students and his colleagues were “very impressed with Holderlein’s ability to integrate theory and econometrics in sophisticated ways.”

Hoderlein’s list of publications includes two articles in Econometrica, the most prestigious journal in his discipline. He also has a forthcoming paper in the Journal of Econometrics on consumer demand models. He’s currently working on a project that involves measuring the fraction of the population that behaves rationally in the sense that it follows the key predictions of a micro-economic model of consumer choice.

Holderlein will be teaching an advanced graduate econometrics course this fall and will teach undergraduate econometrics in the spring. He looks forward to joining Brown’s “balanced department” of economists and is excited to interact with scholars across economic disciplines.

“Given that he started as a relative outsider to the field of econometrics in terms of his training and first position, he has been remarkably successful in getting his work into one of the top journals of the discipline, and we believe he has a very promising future,” Foster said.