Jakob Famulok
- PhD Candidate in Economics, GSEFM, Goethe University Frankfurt (10/2020 - 10/2026)
- M.Sc. in Quantitative Economics, Goethe University Frankfurt (10/2020 - 08/2025)
- B.Sc. in Business and Economics, Goethe University Frankfurt (10/2015 - 10/2018)
- Leadership and organizational sustainability
- Behavioral and experimental economics
- Field experiments and RCTs
- Pro-environmental behavior of individuals, firms, and governments
- Household and sustainable finance
The Economics of Leadership (M.Sc.), Exercise Leader
Chair of Prof. Kosfeld, Goethe University (SS 2023, SS 2025; 6 ECTS)
Designed and was responsible for the content of the exercise sessions, the oral examinations, and the presentation assignments; set and graded the written examination.
Management (B.Sc.), Teaching Assistant
Chairs of Prof. Kosfeld and Prof. Friebel, Goethe University (≈ 300 students; 7 semesters; 2021 – 2026; 6 ECTS)
Held one to three tutorials biweekly on Cournot competition, the principal–agent problem, and the allocation of formal and real authority; contributed to exam design and grading.
Grundlagenseminar Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten (Seminar), Exercise Leader
Goethe University (34 students; 6 ECTS)
Delivered a business simulation in which student teams manage competing firms in a common market; graded oral presentations.
Thesis supervision
24 Bachelor’s and 3 Master’s theses at the chairs of Prof. Kosfeld, Prof. Friebel, and Prof. Laudenbach (2021 - 2026)
Responsible for the full supervisory relationship, from defining the topic through the writing process,
and for the first-grading recommendation.
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Do Investors Use Sustainable Assets as Carbon Offsets? (Job Market Paper) with Emily Kormanyos and Daniel Worring
Abstract: We present novel evidence that retail investors attempt offsetting their carbon footprints by investing sustainably. Analyzing 6,151 bank clients and conducting an experiment with 4,249 participants, we find higher footprints are linked to greener portfolios. In a randomized control trial, we show that the salience of investors’ carbon footprints compared to their peers causally shifts sustainable asset allocations, driven by participants with moderate environmental beliefs. We additionally identify a substitution effect between carbon offsetting through donations and sustainable assets. Our findings contribute to understanding behavioral drivers in sustainable investing, crucial for designing policies which align financial markets with environmental goals.
Cities and Peers: How Governments Can (Not) Lead Collective Effort Against Climate Change (Working Paper) with Michael Kosfeld and Christine Laudenbach
Information Frictions and the Source of Information in Firms’ Take-up of Environmental Subsidies (Work in Progress) with Guido Friebel, Martin Kesternich, and Elisa Rodepeter
Short description: A three-arm field experiment on firm subsidy take-up, in cooperation with the City of Frankfurt (Klimabonus program).
Market Understanding and ESG Investments (Work in Progress) with Julian Detemple, Florian Hett, and Christian Eufinger
Short description: We examine how previously undocumented misunderstandings of financial markets, documented in a survey of 5,000 German retail investors, shape their decisions around sustainable investments.
The Role of Complexity in Life Choices: Financial Decision-Making Around Childbirth (Work in Progress) with Christine Laudenbach, Olga Balakina, and Vincent Selz
Short description: In a large survey of German mothers, we document how complexity and limited attention shape financial decisions around childbirth. Building on these findings, we design and evaluate an intervention for pregnant women in cooperation with a large German consumer app.
Intra-Household Bargaining and Parental Leave Uptake (Work in Progress) with Vincent Selz
Short description: This project develops a both-partner, pre-decision elicitation of the preferences and beliefs behind couples’ parental-leave allocation. We document that couples’ mutually consistent plans rest on systematically biased cross-partner beliefs, and build toward a prospective information experiment testing whether correcting those beliefs moves the allocation that anchors the long-run gender gap. Draft available upon request.