We are pleased to announce that Johannes Abeler has taken over as Head of the Department of Economics. Johannes joined Oxford in 2011 after completing his PhD at the University of Bonn and an academic position at the University of Nottingham. He is a Professor of Economics and a Supernumerary Fellow at St Anne’s College. His research primarily focuses on Behavioural and Public Economics, with notable work on the economic effects of honesty, complexity, fairness, disappointment, and fungibility.
Johannes takes on leadership of the Department at a particularly exciting time. The Guardian has just ranked us as the number one department for economics teaching in the UK. We are also proud to be the first Economics Department in the country to receive the Silver Athena Swan Award, recognising our commitment to gender equality and inclusion.
With these recent achievements, Johannes’ vision for the Department is to further solidify our position as a leader in economic research, to translate that research into tangible impact on both policy and society, and to provide a world-class academic environment that nurtures the next generation of economists.
Johannes succeeds Professor Hamish Low, who has been our Head of Department since 2020. Under Hamish’s leadership, we enhanced our support for graduate students and deepened our external engagement. Reflecting on the transition, Johannes remarked:
“I am honoured to take on the role of Head of the Department, especially at such an important moment. I am grateful to Hamish for his leadership, which has placed us on a strong trajectory. With the Department recently being named the top in the UK and achieving our Silver Athena Swan Award, I look forward to building on this foundation and driving us forward to further successes in the future.”
