Stephan Heblich

Stephan is a Full Professor and Munk Chair of Economics at the University of Toronto, with a cross-appointment to the Department of Economics. Prior to that, he has been working at the University of Bristol, UK. Stephan is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a co-editor at the Journal of Urban Economics and a member of the editorial boards of the Economic Journal, Regional Science and Urban Economics, and the Journal of Economic Geography.

In his academic research, Stephan looks at spatial disparities in the distribution of location factors and amenities that attract individuals or firms. It is important to understand drivers underlying the geographic distribution of such attributes because they induce spatial variation in house prices, the share of high-skilled workers, entrepreneurship, and—more broadly—economic development. Stephan believes that present-day outcomes originate in historic developments which explains his additional interest in (economic) history.

His research has been published in leading academic journals and attracted the interest of media outlets like the economist or Freakonomics radio. Beside this, he has been involved in policy-oriented reports for governments and firms.