German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

Katharina Fietz

Doctoral Researcher

Short CV

Since 07/2021: Research fellow and member of the GIGA Doctoral Programme
Since 07/2021: Consultant World Bank, Social Protection and Jobs Latin America
2019 - 2021: Research Analyst and Fellow at the World Bank Social Protection and Jobs Unit for Latin America and Caribbean
2019: Blue Book Trainee at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission
2019: Intern at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit in Mexico
Education: Economics at the Nova School of Business and Economics, Portugal, and the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (M.Sc.); Business Administration at the Humboldt University of Berlin and the Higher School of Economics, Russia (B.Sc.)

Current Research

Social Protection Systems and Labour Markets

Countries and Regions

Latin America
Mexico
Brazil

Research Programmes

Globalisation and Development

Dissertation

Social Protection Systems and (In)formal Labor Markets in Developing Countries

Katharina Fietz

Doctoral Researcher

[email protected]

World Bank Policy Research Working Paper | 2024

Does Local Employment Growth Accelerate Exits from Social Assistance?: Evidence From Brazil’s Conditional Cash Transfer Bolsa Familia

In this World Bank Policy Research Paper, Katharina Fietz and her co-authors examine the effects of local labour market performance on social assistance in Brazil. The results indicate that an increase in local employment leads to a small, statistically significant rise in the probability of exiting from Bolsa Familia, associated with rising formal employment among social assistance recipients.

Katharina Fietz

Dr. Matteo Morgandi

Prof. Dr. Gabriel Lyrio de Oliveira

Luiz Henrique Superti

World Bank Policy Research Working Paper | 2024

Racial Peer Effects at Work: Evidence from Worker Deaths in Brazil

In this Research Paper, Katharina Fietz and her co-author study the impact of working with same-race coworkers on individuals' retention at firms. They exploit the unexpected deaths of workers from different racial groups as exogenous shocks to peer group composition, showing that a decrease in the non-white (NW) share of coworkers reduces the retention of NW workers but not that of white workers.

Katharina Fietz

Doctoral Researcher

GIGA Working Papers | 06/2023

Digitalisation and Labour Markets in Developing Countries

The impact of digitalisation on labour markets is felt worldwide. In the Global South, internet access expands, digital platforms proliferate, but access to and use of digital technologies remains far from universal. We review evidence on the labour markets effects of some of these digital trends.

Katharina Fietz

Doctoral Researcher

Prof. Dr. Jann Lay

Lead Research Fellow / Head of Research Programme "Globalisation and Development"

GIGA Focus Global | 2/2023

Digital Skills in the Global South: Gaps, Needs, and Progress

The arrival of AI-powered chatbots has made many people think once again about the skills needed for the "digital future of work." Poorer countries in particular exhibit large “digital skills gaps.” This GIGA Focus looks at digital skills in the Global South.

Katharina Fietz

Doctoral Researcher

Prof. Dr. Jann Lay

Lead Research Fellow / Head of Research Programme "Globalisation and Development"

Infographic | 2023

Digitalisation and Labour Markets in Developing Countries

Digitalisation has a major impact on labour markets in developing countries. While Internet access expands, digital platforms proliferate and “gig-work” is performed in the Global South, access to and use of digital technologies remains far from universal.