Manuel Hoffmann

Television, Health, and Happiness

Watching television is a time-consuming activity with possible negative consequences on well-being. Manuel Hoffmann and Adrian Chadi have comprehensively studied this problem by exploiting a novel large-scale natural experiment in West Germany, where people in geographically restricted areas received commercial TV via terrestrial frequencies. Contrary to previous research, the scholars found no health impact when TV consumption increases, while, for life satisfaction, they even found positive effects. 

Mr. Hoffmann’s research focuses on open innovation, technologies, as well as labor and health economics while leveraging experimental, quasi-experimental, and structural methods to answer pertinent research questions that can improve individual, firm, and societal welfare. 

During his stay at CESifo, Mr. Hoffmann is keen to learn more about the research being conducted in Munich. He plans to explore collaborative opportunities using field campaigns to better understand technologies, innovations and management processes within organizations. He will simultaneously move forward on research aimed at providing a better understanding of labor market cartels.

Manuel Hoffmann is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard within the Digital, Data, and Design institute at Harvard Business School. He is affiliated with the Center for Population Health Sciences at Stanford University and obtained his PhD in Economics from Texas A&M University. Prior to his graduate studies he obtained M.Sc. degrees in Economics, Business, and Statistics, both from the University of Trier.