Learn more about LISER’s departments, shaping our contributions to societal and scientific challenges.

Discover research that examines key challenges in employment, economic trends and social dynamics within the labour market, offering valuable insights into these important areas.

Living Conditions

Engage with research that investigates the factors influencing living standards, with a focus on income distribution, housing conditions and social inclusion, providing evidence-based insights into these crucial areas.

Urban Development and Mobility

Studies urban dynamics to identify pathways of actors to stimulate sustainable urban transitions.

Appel à Communications: Les relations industrielles dans un monde du travail en mutation

Learn more about our cross-departmental programmes, which combine interdisciplinary expertise to tackle transversal challenges.

Crossing Borders

Discover how our research into the complexities of cross-border mobility is advancing knowledge, shaping policy, benefiting society and addressing global challenges.

Health and Health Systems

Engage with research dedicated to enhancing public health, improving healthcare accessibility, and promoting equitable and efficient health solutions at a global scale.

Discover LISER's initiatives, driving scientific progress and fostering meaningful collaborations with stakeholders.

Doctoral programmes

Meet a dynamic community of researchers addressing critical societal challenges through innovative and interdisciplinary studies. Our doctoral programme offers exceptional training, mentorship and opportunities to shape impactful policies and drive innovation in diverse fields.

Data Science and Simulation

The Centre of Competence for Data Science and Simulation (DSS) is a cross-departmental initiative. Our ambition is to develop infrastructure, tools and competences in in machine learning, big data, microsimulation and geoexperimentation to conduct excellent research and advise policy-makers as well as stakeholders.

Policy Lab

The LISER Policy Lab is an innovative initiative that integrates rigorous scientific research into policymaking to support decision-makers in tackling major challenges in areas like the economy, climate, health, digitalisation, housing, education, and social cohesion.

cc-EXPAR - Competence Centre in Experimental and Participatory Research

The Competence Centre in Experimental and Participatory Research (EXPAR) is a cross-departmental initiative. Our ambition is to improve awareness of and skills in experimental and participatory research methods to strengthen LISER’s position at the forefront of internationally high quality, scientifically rigorous and societally relevant research.

Born for this? Sorting into Career Paths on Personality and Preferences

Seminar

Series: LISER Research Seminar

English

Born for this? Sorting into Career Paths on Personality and Preferences

When:

TUE, 24 FEB 2026

From:

11:00 AM

To:

12:30 PM

Where:

Hybrid

We provide a comprehensive account of how personality and preferences relate to the sorting of individuals into career paths. Combining rich panel survey data with administrative records for five cohorts of university entrants in Germany, we document three key findings. First, students sort strongly into fields of study along a broad set of personality and preference measures, and these differences remain pronounced after conditioning on expected earnings, non-wage amenities, and perceived ability across actual and counterfactual fields. Second, sorting is productive: students are more likely to complete their degree when their personality and preferences profile aligns with the typical profile in their field. Third, sorting patterns observed at the beginning of university remain remarkably persistent over time, with only modest field-specific adaptation during the course of study, and closely resemble those observed among workers in corresponding occupations.

Speaker

Markus Nagler

University of Erlangen-Nuremberg

Markus Nagler studied economics at the University of Munich (BSc 2012), the University Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, and at University College London (MSc 2013). He obtained his PhD from the University of Munich in 2018. During his dissertation, he was a visiting student at the Harvard Kennedy School and at the Department of Economics at MIT. He was also a visiting researcher at the NBER, at the Questrom School of Business at Boston University, and at the Centre for Economic Performance at LSE. Since November 2019, Markus is at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, first as a tenure-track assistant professor and, since 2025, as full professor. His research focuses on empirical labor and innovation economics. He is affiliated with CESifo, LASER, IZA, the Schöller Foundation, and the Joachim-Herz-Foundation.

Connect with me: