My research lies at the intersection of political economy, applied microeconomics, and European integration. I study how institutions and policies shape individual behaviour and economic outcomes, with a focus on labour markets, housing, and welfare states in Germany and the European Union. My empirical work draws on microeconometric methods applied to survey and administrative data.
Publications
2025
Published
Mauerer, I.; Puy, M.; Urzay-Gómez, S.
European Economic Review, vol. 176, 105038
We present a theoretical framework that explains how European citizens form their preferences on EU integration. Building on theories of nation formation, we consider three ideological cost functions measuring the impact of EU legislation on national politics. Individual-level survey data from EU member states show that European citizens tend to be highly sophisticated: support for integration is driven by citizens who believe EU legislation amends their national policy, while Euroscepticism emerges among those who see it as interference.
2024
Published
Urzay-Gómez, S.
Applied Economics Letters, vol. 33(4), 626–629
Using the Synthetic Control Method and regional-level data (NUTS-2) from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), this paper shows that the collapse of the Berlin Wall led to a sudden stagnation in salaries for West Berliners, compared to a counterfactual scenario where the Wall had remained intact.
Working Papers
2025
Under review
Urzay-Gómez, S.; Correa-Lopera, G.; Medina-Rodríguez, D.
European Journal of Political Economy
This paper provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of the relationship between politicians' salaries and voters' trust in institutions. Investigating the 2009 pay harmonisation of MEP salaries, we find a significant decrease in institutional trust following the reform, consistent with a model in which politicians have incentives to approve salary increases that erode public trust.
2026
Working paper
As If It Never Were: The Long-Run Effects of the Berlin Rent Cap
Urzay-Gómez, S.
This paper estimates the causal effect of the Berlin rent cap (Mietendeckel, 2020–2021) on the housing market, using a difference-in-differences design that exploits the spatial discontinuity at the Berlin city boundary. The analysis draws on administrative transaction data for the German rental market.
2026
Working paper
Cultural or Institutional? Decomposing the Persistent East-West Childcare Frontier in Berlin, 2003–2021
Urzay-Gómez, S.; Verd-Llabrés, G.
More than three decades after reunification, childcare enrollment rates among children under three remain markedly higher in East Berlin than in West Berlin. This paper decomposes this persistent gap into cultural and institutional channels, exploiting individual-level data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) over 2003–2021. The results are consistent with an institutional account: the gap is driven by place of residence and correlated with differences in childcare supply, rather than by the cultural legacy of East German origin.
Work in Progress
The Political Footprint of EU Transfers: Perception, Identity, and Integration Preferences
Examines whether exposure to EU cohesion funds shapes citizens' European identity and integration preferences.
Persistent Welfare Dependence and Disengagement from Mainstream Politics: Evidence from Hartz IV in Germany
Studies the effect of the Hartz IV reform on long-term welfare reliance and political disengagement in Germany.
Geography, Housing Prices, and Support for European Integration
Investigates whether housing affordability in urban areas affects voters' support for European integration.
Labour Market Effects of Hard Borders: Evidence from the German Eastern Border after 2011
Uses the 2011 opening of the German labour market to Eastern Europeans as a natural experiment to estimate border effects on wages and employment.
Coalition Stability and Parliamentary Contiguity
Analyses the role of ideological contiguity in the formation and stability of parliamentary coalitions.