Meet Our New PhD Students in Economics for 2026
In September, the Department of Economics welcomed five new PhD students from India, Germany and Sweden. Meet Mohammad, Linda, Simon, Ronja and Jacob, and learn more about their backgrounds, research interests and what brought them to the University of Gothenburg.
Mohammad Atif Haidry joins the department from India, following studies in India and Paris and empirical research experience in the US. His curiosity about differences in development and economic and social outcomes led him to pursue research.
"I see the world as a platform with ever evolving problems, issues, and concerns and I believe that research in economics and the social sciences broadly give us the tools to observe, identify, and navigate a direction in solving these problems."
Read more about Mohammad
Linda Neubauer is originally from Germany and has studied in Mannheim and Lund, with research experience from Stockholm. Her research interests are primarily in public economics and political economy.
"I chose the University of Gothenburg because the department offers a strong research environment with a broad range of topics across the faculty."
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Simon Postler joins the department from Cologne, Germany, and has studied in Cologne and Toulouse. His research interests are primarily in development economics, economic history and labor economics, with a particular interest in education and migration.
"On my PhD journey, I am hoping to develop the necessary tools and techniques on how to conduct rigorous research; from how to come up with interesting research ideas to how to properly publish a paper."
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Ronja Kwasniok is also from Germany, is interested in how policies and reforms affect people and society. Her research interests are primarily in public and environmental economics, with a particular interest in issues related to social inequality.
"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."
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Jacob Allestam is from Gothenburg, Sweden. His interest in research developed during his Master’s studies in Finance, where he particularly enjoyed quantitative methods and the opportunity to explore research questions independently.
"Writing my Master’s thesis made me realize how much I enjoyed working independently with a research question. A PhD felt like a natural next step to continue exploring these interests."
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