Felix S.F. Schaff

I study the political economy of inequality in the long run. My research examines how historical institutions governing the state, the family, and markets shape the distribution of economic resources and opportunities over centuries.

Using newly constructed archival micro-data and modern economic methods, I analyse how these institutional arrangements affect wealth inequality, gender gaps, and social mobility. My work combines long-run historical evidence with causal inference to better understand the origins and persistence of inequality.

My recent work examines how religious change shaped wealth inequality in early modern Germany (Journal of Economic Growth, 2025) and reconstructs long-run poverty dynamics from the Black Death to industrialization (Explorations in Economic History, 2025).

I received my PhD from the London School of Economics. I am currently a Research Fellow at the Sustainable Cooperation (SCOOP) Centre at Utrecht University and will join Bocconi University as Assistant Professor in the Department of Social and Political Sciences in September 2026.