Welcome!
I'm an economist mainly interested in research on
decisions of households and firms and in applied data science and econometrics.
Check out some of my latest work
You can contact me by email:
rostam-afschar(at)uni-mannheim.de (GPG-Key).
- Advanced Econometrics (PhD, Master Level)
Students will analyze individual behavior on the basis of micro data (cross-section and panel data) of individuals, households, and firms and work through an advanced treatment of econometric theory and applications. Topics covered include: Repetition of ordinary least squares and generalized least squares, instrumental variables estimation, simultaneous equations, generalized method of moments and maximum likelihood estimation, time series and panel data econometrics. Students will learn how to apply these methods using real-world micro data.
What students like about the course:
"Excellent, detailed explanations of a highly motivating lecturer! Great selection of topics and very interactive teaching."
"Going deep into the mechanics, discussing highly relevant applications, and at the same time providing a broad overview. Thank you for your energy and passion and for making me interested in your research area!"
- Empirical Public Economics (Master Level)
This course gives an introduction to the main subjects and methodologies of empirical taxation research. The aim is to familiarize students with basic empirical methods and theoretical models in applied microeconomics, with a focus on reconciling theory with data. Topics include various behavioral responses to taxation including efficiency costs and incidence of taxation, inequality and mobility, and consequences for welfare analysis.
What students like about the course:
"Competent, dedicated, and helpful teacher! Explains complicated material in a clear and simple way. Is always open for questions and critical discussions."
"Understanding the problems through data analysis and reading research papers is a great way of learning how to tackle real works questions. I enjoy the course and learned a lot!"
Best Teaching Awards Summer 2019 and Fall 2019, University of Hohenheim
More Teaching Experiences (since 2010)
- Public Economics
- 5 lectures, 7 classes, 2 seminars
- Microeconometrics
- 5 lectures, 7 classes
- Macroeconomics
- 9 classes
- Microeconomics
- 4 classes
- Financial Accounting
- 2 lectures
at Universität Mannheim, Freie Universität Berlin, Universität Potsdam, and Universität Hohenheim.
Students interested in writing an empirical thesis on firm, employee or household behavior are encouraged to apply!
A great opportunity is to use data from the German Business Panel in your thesis, a unique dataset established at the University of Mannheim, see
gbpanel.org for more information. We can provide easy access to the German Business Panel under the data protection requirements via structure files or onsite use. Knowledge of basic statistics, econometrics, and prior experience with R or Stata is helpful, but not necessary.
Topics of particular interest are
- Taxes and public infrastructure as determinants of firm location choice?
- Sticky costs and firm investment plans
- Regional disparities in firm decision maker's plans, perceptions, and opinions
- Tax incidence
- How did female-led businesses weather the COVID-19 crisis?
- What are the effects of COVID-19 on employment and digitalization?
- How do firm decision makers form preferences on tax policy?
- Zombie firms
Topics of past semesters (selection)
- Taxes and public infrastructure as determinants of firm location choice? Analysis of business tax and local amenities as determinants of location attractiveness
- Differences in decision-making within risk aversion types of managers during the Covid-19 crisis
- How is a company’s performance in Germany during covid-19 impacted by the gender of company leaders?
- Associations between Organizational Structure and Learning in the Accounting Realm of Companies in Germany
- Consequences of the introduction of an unconditional basic income in Germany
- Endogenisierung der Führerschaft in Dopolen: Ansätze und Ergebnisse
- Dynamic Programming with discrete choice: Households' attractiveness towards financial investments based on SHARE database.
- The relationship between parental wealth and the educational outcome of children
- Withholding-Tax Non-Complience: The Case of Cum-Ex Stock-Market Transactions
- Well, That Is Just Basic Economics – How Market Interactions Affect Our Moral Reasoning
- National revenues and tax-induced migration
- Vorsichtssparen und konjunkturelle Schwankungen
- Lohnunsicherheit und Arbeitsverhalten von Selbstständigen in Deutschland: Eine Empirische Analyse von SOEP Daten
- „Die Auswirkungen der Novellierung der Handwerksordnung im Jahre 2004 – eine empirische Studie zum deutschen Handwerk“
- Bedingungsloses Grundeinkommen
- Theorien gerechter Besteuerung - Eine empirische Untersuchung
- Wachsende Schere zwischen Arm und Reich - die Folgen für das Wirtschaftswachstum
- Auswirkungen des bedingungslosen Grundeinkommens auf Migration
- Finanzierung eines bedingungslosen Grundeinkommens in Deutschland – Eine Analyse der Konzepte von Werner, Althaus und Sommer
- Regulierte Berufe in Deutschland: Eine empirische Untersuchung des Arbeitsmarktes
- Wie beeinflussen Konjunkturprogramme die Bereitschaft zur Umverteilung?
Courses
- 37
- Applied Data Science: Machine Learning for Economics and Business Data
2022 Fall
Class, Ph.D., Master, Universität Mannheim
- 38
- Advanced Sampling Methods: Design and Causal Inference
2022 Summer
Class, Ph.D., Master, Universität Mannheim
- 37
- Applied Econometrics
2021 Fall
Class, Ph.D., Master, Universität Mannheim
- 36
- Applied Econometrics
2021 Fall
Lecture, Ph.D., Master, Universität Mannheim
- 35
- Advanced Econometrics
2021 Fall
Class, Ph.D., Master, Universität Mannheim
- 34
- Advanced Econometrics
2021 Fall
Lecture, Ph.D., Master, Universität Mannheim
- 33
- Topics in Public Economics
2019 Fall
Class, Master, Universität Hohenheim
- 32
- Märkte und wirtschaftliche Entscheidungen
2019 Fall
Class, Bachelor, Universität Hohenheim
- 31
- Topics in Public Economics
2019 Fall
Lecture, Master, Universität Hohenheim
- 30
- Empirical Public Economics
2019 Summer
Class, Master, Universität Hohenheim
- 29
- Empirical Public Economics
2019 Summer
Lecture, Master, Universität Hohenheim
- 28
- Topics in Public Economics
2018 Fall
Class, Master, Universität Hohenheim
- 27
- Märkte und wirtschaftliche Entscheidungen
2018 Fall
Class, Bachelor, Universität Hohenheim
- 26
- Topics in Public Economics
2017 Fall
Class, Master, Universität Hohenheim
- 25
- Märkte und wirtschaftliche Entscheidungen
2017 Fall
Class, Bachelor, Universität Hohenheim
- 24
- Topics in Public Economics
2017 Fall
Lecture, Master, Universität Hohenheim
- 23
- Empirical Public Economics
2017 Summer
Class, Master, Universität Hohenheim
- 22
- Public Economics
2017 Summer
Seminar, Bachelor, Universität Hohenheim
- 21
- Public Economics II
2016 Fall
Class, Master, Universität Hohenheim
- 20
- Märkte und wirtschaftliche Entscheidungen
2016 Fall
Class, Bachelor, Universität Hohenheim
- 19
- Public Economics II
2016 Fall
Lecture, Master, Universität Hohenheim
- 18
- Public Economics I
2016 Summer
Class, Master, Universität Hohenheim
- 17
- Public Economics
2016 Summer
Seminar, Bachelor, Universität Hohenheim
- 16
- Applied Microeconometrics
2015 Fall
Lecture, Ph.D., Master, Freie Universität Berlin
- 15
- Theorie und Empirie der Wirtschaftspolitik
2015 Fall
Lecture, Bachelor, Universität Potsdam
- 14
- Introduction to Microeconometrics
2015 Summer
Lecture, Bachelor, Freie Universität Berlin
- 13
- Grundlagen der Makroökonomie
2014 Fall
Class, Bachelor, Freie Universität Berlin
- 12
- Makroökonomie
2014 Summer
Class, Bachelor, Freie Universität Berlin
- 11
- Angewandte Mikroökonometrie
2013 Fall
Class, Master, Freie Universität Berlin
- 10
- Quantitative Methoden
2013 Fall
Class, Master, Freie Universität Berlin
- 9
- Grundlagen der Makroökonomie
2013 Fall
Class, Bachelor, Freie Universität Berlin
- 8
- Makroökonomie
2013 Summer
Class, Bachelor, Freie Universität Berlin
- 7
- Angewandte Mikroökonometrie
2012 Fall
Class, Master, Freie Universität Berlin
- 6
- Grundlagen der Makroökonomie
2012 Fall
Class, Bachelor, Freie Universität Berlin
- 5
- Makroökonomie
2012 Summer
Class, Bachelor, Freie Universität Berlin
- 4
- Mikroökonometrie
2011 Fall
Class, Ph.D., Master, Freie Universität Berlin
- 3
- Grundlagen der Makroökonomie
2011 Fall
Class, Bachelor, Freie Universität Berlin
- 2
- Makroökonomie
2011 Summer
Class, Bachelor, Freie Universität Berlin
- 1
- Grundlagen der Makroökonomie
2010 Fall
Class, Bachelor, Freie Universität Berlin