CIRHR Assistant Professor, Kourtney Koebel, was one of 250 young scientists throughout the world invited to attend and present at the 8th Lindau Nobel Meeting in Economic Sciences, a week-long globally-recognised forum for exchange between Nobel Laureates and young scientists of different generations, scientific disciplines, and cultures, building networks of scientists around the globe. I spoke with Kourtney about her Lindau experience, the research she presented, and what it was like presenting to, and discussing her work with, some of the world's most brilliant and accomplished scholars. You can now read our full interview below.
What did it mean to you to receive an invitation to participate in the Lindau Nobel meeting, and why are meetings such as these important for the scholars/researchers in attendance?
I was very honoured to receive an invitation to participate in the 8th Lindau Nobel Meeting in Economic Sciences. I was nominated to attend by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and I am incredibly grateful to the organization for selecting me to be one of Canada’s representatives at the meeting. It was an extraordinary professional milestone and a memory I will cherish for many years to come.
Opportunities like the Lindau Nobel meeting are invaluable for early-career researchers for several reasons. First, they provide a rare opportunity to meet and discuss big ideas with leading scholars, whose insights can directly influence and shape our research. Second, these gatherings help establish connections among young researchers from diverse geographic and academic backgrounds who may otherwise not have the opportunity to meet. I made several new connections and friends during the trip, and I am hopeful that these exchanges will lead to collaborations in the future. Finally, the meeting provides an important reminder of why we chose this career path: the excitement of scientific discovery and the courage to ask bold questions.
The subject of your presentation was Penalties and Premiums: The Impact of Childbirth on the Well-Being and Work of Parents. Can you talk about the central findings you shared with those in attendance?
It has been well-documented that women face a “penalty” after becoming mothers, earning less money and receiving fewer promotions. In contrast, when men become fathers, they typically receive wage premiums and are viewed as more committed and reliable by their employers. However, these objective employment outcomes don’t necessarily give the full picture of what is happening in the transition to parenthood. In this paper, co-authored with Daisy Pollenne (INSEAD), we wanted to explore how becoming a parent impacts subjective well-being measures like life satisfaction and unhappiness.
Using panel data from the United Kingdom, we found that, fathers become 6% more unhappy after having their first child and that this increased unhappiness continues for at least 6 years. We also find that this pattern exists regardless of career success: fathers who work more hours, earn more money, or whose careers stay the same after having a child are all less happy. For mothers, we found a different pattern that suggests they face a difficult trade-off. While all mothers get a temporary boost in well-being right after having children, after the first year, outcomes depend on work trajectories. Mothers who return to full-time work show increases in unhappiness, while mothers who move to part-time work maintain stable well-being.
This suggests that women experience a “happiness-career” trade-off: mothers can protect their emotional health by scaling back their career or maintain career ambitions but pay an emotional price. This also means that mothers who avoid the traditional “motherhood penalty” in terms of their career are experiencing a hidden penalty emotionally.
Our results show that we need flexible workplaces for everyone rather than individual workplace accommodations; meaningful recognition of caregiving as productive work; and more workplaces where jobs are compatible with caregiving responsibilities and advancing in your career doesn't require emotional sacrifice. We need to move beyond just offering accommodations and promoting equal opportunities in the workplace to transforming the structure and organization of work more broadly.
What were your general impressions of the Lindau Nobel experience?
I was impressed by the overall organization of the Lindau Nobel meeting, as the Laureates were quite accessible to the young economists. The meeting was structured in a way that fostered meaningful interactions through formal lectures, panel discussions, and lunches with Laureates. There were also several social events, including DJs, dancing, and a traditional Bavarian night, which revealed how wonderfully human the Laureates are. The emphasis on creating dialogue among participants, rather than one-way communication via lectures, ensured ample opportunity to engage in authentic intellectual exchange both with the Laureates and with other young economists from around the world.
Can you talk about one or two highlights from your trip?
One of the most rewarding aspects of my participation at the meeting was presenting my research before an audience that included several Nobel Laureates. Having the opportunity to present in such a venue meant I received invaluable feedback from some of the world's most distinguished economists on my research and, to date, is one of the highlights of my career.
Another rewarding aspect of the meeting was the excitement the Nobel winners brought to their lectures and panel discussions. It is clear why these individuals won such a prestigious prize: they are insatiably curious and not easily deterred from pursuing research they believe in, even when others are critical. Many of the Laureates shared uplifting and motivating messages to the group of young economists, and my attendance at the meeting has increased my confidence to pursue ambitious research.
Was there a particular Nobel laureate you were looking forward to meeting, or was there a Nobel laureate with whom you had a particularly interesting or fruitful conversation?
Given my background in labour economics, I was most interested in meeting Christopher Pissardes. He won the Nobel Prize in Economics with Peter Diamond and Dale Mortensen in 2010 for their development of a key theoretical model that is used to understand unemployment dynamics in the labour market. I was lucky enough to have lunch with him and discuss policy ideas like guaranteed basic income, as well as the topic of one of my dissertation chapters: the meaning individuals derive from work beyond the wage they receive. The conversation with him gave me a lot of motivation to resume work on that paper, as he too is advocating the need to consider workers’ well-being alongside more traditional measures of career success like earnings.
Can you talk about any non-academic activities (sightseeing, socials, etc) that you’re grateful to have participated in?
The last day of the trip was particularly notable as we took a ferry boat to Mainau, which is an island on Lake Constance. After being treated to a picnic lunch, we were given the afternoon to explore the gardens on the island, which were stunning. It was a great opportunity to socialize with some of the young economists in a less formal setting, and I also managed to squeeze in a game of Kubb (Viking Chess) with Guido Imbens and Simon Johnson. I was not very good and should perhaps focus on my comparative advantage in writing papers!
