Rate My Professor Daniel Sturm

Daniel Sturm is a Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London. He obtained his PhD in Economics from the LSE in 2001, an MSc in Economics and Philosophy from LSE in 1995, after undergraduate studies in Economics and Philosophy at the University of Heidelberg from 1991 to 1993 and a visiting undergraduate year at LSE from 1993 to 1994. His academic career began as Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Munich from 2000 to 2006. Joining LSE in 2006 as Assistant Professor of Public Policy, he advanced to Assistant Professor of Economics from 2008 to 2010, Associate Professor from 2011 to 2016, and Professor of Economics since 2016. Additional appointments include Programme Director of the Urban Programme at the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP), Research Associate at CEP, and Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) since 2002 and CESifo since 2004.

Sturm's research interests encompass international trade, economic geography, urban economics, and political economy, with a focus on agglomeration and dispersion forces shaping economic activity within and across cities. Key publications include "The Economics of Density: Evidence from the Berlin Wall" (Econometrica, 2015, with Gabriel Ahlfeldt, Stephen Redding, and Nikolaus Wolf), which won the 2018 Frisch Medal; "The Making of the Modern Metropolis: Evidence from London" (Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2020, with Stephan Heblich and Stephen Redding); "The Costs of Remoteness: Evidence from German Division and Reunification" (American Economic Review, 2008, with Stephen Redding); "The Impact of Public Employment: Evidence from Bonn" (Journal of Urban Economics, 2021, with Sascha Becker and Stephan Heblich); and "History and Industry Location: Evidence from German Airports" (Review of Economics and Statistics, 2011, with Stephen Redding and Nikolaus Wolf). Major honors include an ERC Advanced Grant for "Quantitative Models of Cities" (2021-2026), LSE Excellence in Education Award (2019), and several LSE teaching prizes. He has served as President of the Urban Economics Association (2020-2021), Vice President (2018-2019), and Co-Editor of the Journal of Urban Economics since 2022, alongside extensive programme committee and referee service.