Meet Ronja Kwasniok, PhD student in Economics
Ronja Kwasniok is one of five new PhD students joining the department this autumn. Originally from Germany, her interest in how policies affect people and society led her to research, with a particular focus on public and environmental economics and social inequality.
Ronja Kwasniok is from a small village near Nuremberg, Germany. She studied International Economics and Development in her Bachelor at the University of Bayreuth, followed by the Master's in Economics at Uppsala University. After graduating, she worked as a research assistant at Stockholm University for a year and later continued some of that work remotely for the University of Melbourne.
What sparked your interest in pursuing research?
"During my first internship in development cooperation, I discovered my motivation to investigate whether certain policies and projects actually achieve their intended goals. This sparked my interest in empirical research and, in particular, environmental policy analysis, which grew even stronger during my studies."
What research fields are you most curious to explore during your PhD?
"I am mostly interested in public and environmental economics and issues related to social inequality. At the moment, I am curious to further explore the distributional effects of environmental and climate policy, as I did in my Master thesis, and how to design effective measures while promoting social justice and public support in an increasingly polarized world. But let’s see how this interest develops over the next two years."
What are you hoping to learn or develop during your time as a PhD student?
"I want to develop both technical expertise in economic research and policy analysis and the ability to communicate complex findings and their relevance to broader audiences. I want to learn how to apply advanced research methods while keeping the bigger picture in focus so that my research genuinely informs people and policy decisions."
What made you choose to apply to the University of Gothenburg?
"The Department's strong research focus in environmental economics and related fields aligned very well with my interests. Plus, I love the ability to just hop on a ferry to the islands whenever I need a break from research and enjoy the nature around Gothenburg."