Klaus Keller, M.A.
Former Research Fellow
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research
Areas of Interest:
International Trade, Labor Economics, Applied Econometrics, Automation and Artificial Intelligence
Academic Résumé
07/2019 – 03/2024
Junior Research Fellow and Doctoral Candidate at Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition (Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research)
Doctoral Thesis: “The Economics of Industrial Automation – Competition, Labor Market Power, and Political Participation”
04/2022 – 05/2022
Visiting Researcher, Boston University, Technology & Policy Research Initiative, Boston, MA, USA, Host: James Bessen
03/2019 – 07/2019
Junior Research Officer, International Labour Organisation (ILO), Geneva, Switzerland
09/2018 – 03/2019
Research Internship, International Labour Organisation (ILO), Geneva, Switzerland
06/2018 – 09/2018
Research Internship, World Trade Organization (WTO), Geneva, Switzerland
01/2018 – 02/2018
Research Internship, Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Kiel
09/2017 – 12/2017
Swiss Mobility Exchange, University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
09/2016 – 09/2018
Master of Arts (M.A.) in Internatonal Economics, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland
06/2016 – 09/2016
Traineeship, Delegation of the European Union to Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein, Bern, Switzerland
02/2016 – 04/2016
Internship, Permanent Mission of the Sovereign Military Order of St.John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta to the United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
09/2014 – 05/2015
Exchange Scholarship, Faculty of Art and Sciences, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
09/2012 – 06/2017
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in International Relations, Université de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland
Honors, Scholarships, Academic Prizes
09/2018 - 03/2019
Carlo-Schmid-Program, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD)
2017 - 2018
Cusanuswerk Scholarship
2011
Schaeffler-Prize for the best scientific baccalaureate
Publications
Further Publications, Press Articles, Interviews
(2021). 'New Directions in the European Union's Innovation Policy?' Report on the Conference of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Collaboration with the MPI Alumni Association in Munich, 9 July 2021, GRUR International - Journal of European and International IP Law, 70 (11), 1074-1078. DOI
Discussion Papers
(2023). Robotizing to Compete? Firm-Level Evidence, Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Research Paper, No. 23-23. DOI
- We investigate the impact of product market competition on firms’ automation investments. We use a rich combination of micro-data on Portuguese exporters and exploit a novel source of variation in the degree of competition they face – a tariff liberalization between the European Union and Central and Eastern European countries in the 1990s. We find that firms facing greater competition in export markets tend to reduce investments in automation technologies. These average negative effects are driven by the least productive firms, while the most efficient exporters in industries that are more prone to automation tend to robotize in order to compete. These findings suggest that an increase in the degree of product market competition widens disparities between firms.
(2023). Monopsony and Automation, Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Research Paper, No. 23-21.
- We examine the impact of labor market power on firms’ adoption of automation technologies. We develop a model that incorporates labor market power into the task-based theory of automation. We show that, due to higher marginal cost of labor, monopsonistic firms have stronger incentives to automate than wage-taking firms, which could amplify or mitigate the negative employment effects of automation. Using data from US commuting zones, our results show that commuting zones that are more exposed to industrial robots exhibit considerably larger reductions in both employment and wages when their labor markets demonstrate higher levels of concentration.
- Available at SSRN
(2021). Structural Shocks and Political Participation in the US, Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Research Paper, No. 21-22. DOI
- This paper examines the impact of the large structural shocks – automation
and import competition – on voter turnout during US federal elections from 2000
to 2016. Although the negative income effect of both shocks is comparable, we
find that political participation decreases significantly in counties more exposed to
industrial robots. In contrast, the exposure to rising import competition does not
reduce voter turnout. A survey experiment reveals that divergent beliefs about the
effectiveness of government intervention drive this contrast. Our study highlights
the role of beliefs in the political economy of technological change.
Presentations and Lectures
19.09.2023
Monopsony and Automation
Research Seminar
Location: Schloss Ringberg
13.07.2023
Robotizing to Compete – Evidence from Portuguese Manufacturing Exporters
TIME Seminar, TU Munich
Location: Munich
09.05.2023
Robotizing to Compete – Evidence from Portuguese Manufacturing Exporters
12th Retreat of Collaborative Research Center “Rationality and Competition” TRR 190
Location: Schwanenwerder
28.04.2023
Robotizing to Compete – Evidence from Portuguese Manufacturing Exporters
21st Annual GEP - CEPR Postdoctoral Conference, University of Nottingham
Location: Nottingham
28.02.2023
Monopsony and Automation
Research Seminar
Location: Frauenchiemsee
06.02.2023
Monopsony and Automation
Innovation Seminar, LMU Munich
Location: Munich
18.10.2022
Labor Cost and the Direction of Innovation
Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition
Location: Munich
13.09.2022
Monopsony, Automation and Labor Markets
Research Seminar
Location: Bernried
14.07.2022
Robotizing to Compete – Evidence from the Eastern European Enlargement
Munich International Economics Retreat, ifo Institut
Location: Munich
23.03.2022
Robotizing to Compete – Evidence from the Eastern European Enlargement
Technology & Policy Research Initiative, Boston University
Location: online
24.02.2022
Robots, China and Polls: Structural Shocks and Political Participation
Future of Work Conference, University of New Brunswick
Location: online
02.11.2021
Robotizing to Compete – Evidence from the EU Enlargement
LMU International Trade Retreat
Location: Munich
18.10.2021
Robots, China and Polls – Structural Shocks and Political Participation in the US
DRUID Conference 2021
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
13.10.2021
Robots, China and Polls – Structural Shocks and Political Participation in the US
9th Retreat of CRC TRR 190, Collaborative Research Center Rationality and Competition
Location: Ohlstadt
06.10.2021
Knowledge Spillovers and Corporate Investment in Scientific Research
by Ashish Arora, Sharon Belenzon, and Lia Sheer
Harhoff-Schnitzer-Waldinger Reading Seminar
Location: Berg bei Starnberg
29.09.2021
Automation and Foreign Competition – Evidence from Portuguese Firms
Research Seminar
Location: Feldkirchen-Westerham
19.04.2021
Automation and Foreign Competition – Evidence from Portuguese Firms
Munich Innovation Seminar
Location: online
24.03.2021
Automation and Foreign Competition – Evidence from Portuguese Firms
Research Seminar
Location: online
10.09.2020
Automation and Public Health – Evidence from US Local Labor Markets
Research Seminar
Location: online
04.03.2020
Automation and Competition – Theory and Empirics
Research Seminar
Location: Schneefernerhaus/Zugspitze
19.02.2020
Growing Apart: Tradable Services and the Fragmentation of the US Economy, by Fabian Eckert
Harhoff-Schnitzer-Waldinger Reading Seminar
Location: Frauenchiemsee
27.11.2019
Provable Transactions – Exploring the Boundaries of Trust of Smart Contracts on Blockchain
Discussant, TIME Seminar, TU Munich
Location: Munich