Till von Wachter

Till von Wachter is professor of economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the faculty director of the California Policy Lab’s UCLA site.

His research examines how labor market conditions and institutions affect the well-being of workers and their families, including analyzing unemployment, job loss, and exposure to Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the job on workers’ earnings and health outcomes, as well as the role of Unemployment Insurance and disability insurance in buffering such shocks.

Current research projects focus on the role of the Unemployment Insurance program, layoff aversion programs, job search assistance and job training in the age of AI.

Von Wachter’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute on Aging, the Social Security Administration, the Smith Richardson Foundation, the Sloan Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Hilton Foundation, and Arnold Ventures, among others.

He has been an expert witness in numerous testimonies before U.S. congressional committees and has provided expert assistance to the city and county of Los Angeles, the state of California, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Canadian Labor Ministry, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations, and the International Monetary Fund.

Von Wachter received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.