Welcome to my website! I am a PhD candidate in the Sustainable Development program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and at the Climate School. This year, I am a Visiting Research Student in the Department of Economics and at the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics.

My research interests lie at the intersection of spatial, urban, and environmental economics. In my ongoing research, I investigate the role of neighborhood spillovers for the dynamics of residential segregation in US cities, the relevance of weather forecasts for climate adaptation, as well as the potential of reallocating crop growing areas to adapt to a more volatile and spatially correlated future climate.

Before starting my PhD, I worked as a consultant and research assistant at the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery at the World Bank and at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. At both institutions my research was focused on the intersection of development economics and natural disaster impacts - areas that still interest me.

I received my BSc in Economics from Freie Universität Berlin, hold an MSc in Statistics from Imperial College London, and a Masters in International Trade, Finance, and Development from the Barcelona School of Economics.

If you are interested in my research and would like to chat, please reach out!

Contact: stephan.thies@columbia.edu