Dr. rer. pol. Christian Ambrosius
Freie Universität Berlin
ZI Lateinamerika-Institut
Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter
VWL/Ökonomie Lateinamerikas
Raum 227
14197 Berlin
Sprechstunde
per mail
Brief CV
2022-2024 Project Leader "Immigration Enforcement across the World" (funded by Thyssen Foundation)
2017-2021 Visiting Professor (DAAD-Langzeitdozent) at the Faculty of Economics at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). On leave from FU Berlin.
2015 (Nov/Dec) Visiting Scholar, University of Texas in Austin
2014 (Feb/March) Visiting Scholar, Columbia University, New York
since 2012 Research Associate and Lecturer at Freie Universität Berlin, Institute for Latin American Studies
2012 Ph.D. in Economics at Freie Universität Berlin
2010 - 2011 Member of the DFG Research Training Group "Between Spaces. Movements, Actors and Representations of Globalisation". Institute for Latin American Studies, Freie Universität Berlin
2007- 2009 Research Associate ("Wisenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter") in the Research Project "Financial Development and Macroeconomic Stabilisation Through Remittances? Potential Benefits and Governance" at Collaborative Research Center 700: Governance in Areas of Limited Statehood. Freie Universität Berlin
2007 Master’s Degree (M.A.) in International and Development Economics at University of Applied Sciences (HTW) Berlin
2004 - 2006 Development Consultant (Freelance)
2003 Diplom (equivalent to a Master’s degree) in Political Science at Freie Universität Berlin
2000 Diplôme du Programme International de Sciences Politiques et Sociales at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques (IEP) de Paris
1998 Vordiplom in Political Science (secondary: sociology, economics), University of Leipzig
Scholarships and Fundings
2022-2024 Funding by Thyssen Foundation for the Project "Immigration Enforcement across the World"
2014 scholarship by Freie Universität Berlin (Research Alumni Program) for a visting scholarship at Columbia University, New York
2013 scholarship by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for a short-term lectureship at Universidad Simeón Cañas, San Salvador, El Salvador
2010 – 2011 Scholarship by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as member of the International Research Training Group “Between Spaces. Movements, Actors and Representations of Globalisation”
2007 Scholarship by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for writing a Master Thesis at UNDP Morocco
Sommersemester 2023
Finanzen und Entwicklung (V/S, M.Sc. Economics/M.A. Lateinamerikastudien), mit Barbara Fritz
History of Capitalism in the Americas (S, M.A. Lateinamerikastudien) mit Michael Goebel
Wintersemester 2022/2023
Wirtschaftliche Entwicklung: Lateinamerika im Vergleich (B.Sc. Economics/B.A. 30 LP Lateinameristudien)
Sommersemester 2022
Finanzen und Entwicklung (V/Ü, (M.Sc. Economics/M.A. Lateinamerikastudien), mit Barbara Fritz
Interdependencias globales en América Latina desde los tiempos coloniales hasta hoy (M.A. Lateinamerikastudien, mit Debora Gerstenberger)
Wintersemester 2021/2022
International Economics, Area Studies and Comparative Development (M.Sc. Economics/M.A. Lateinamerikastudien)
Migration in Lateinamerika: Ursachen und Konsequenzen (Bachelor)
Universidad Nacional Autónomia de México (2017-2021)
Seminario de Investigación (posgrado)
Experiences Comparadas de Desarrollo Economico (posgrado)
Globalización y Desarrollo (posgrado)
Desarrollo Económico (posgrado)
Macroeconomía III (posgrado)
Historia de Desarrollo Económico II (pregrado)
Wintersemester 2016/2017
Interinstitutionelles Forschungsseminar Entwicklungsökonomie (M.Sc. Economics), mit Kati Krähnert (DIW)
Economic Development (V/S), mit Alejandro Márquez Velázquez
Sommersemester 2016
Economic History of Latin America (M.A. Lateinamerikastudien), mit Michael Goebel
Wintersemester 2015/2016
Projektmodul (M.A. Lateinamerikastudien), mit Martina Sproll
Sommersemester 2015
Develoment Economics (V/S), mit Philipp Lepenies und Alejandro Márquez Velázquez
Wintersemester 2014/2015
A Continent of Crises? Economic History of Latin America (HS), mit Michael Goebel
Sommersemester 2014
Finanzen und Entwicklung (V/Ü), mit Dirk Ehnts
(links zu Lehrveranstaltungskonzept und Syllabus)
Lateinamerika als Laboratorium der Moderne (HS/Ü): Fallstudien, mit Martina Sproll
(link zum Seminarprogramm)
Wintersemester 2013/2014
Lateinamerika als Laboratorium der Moderne (HS/Ü): Fallstudien, mit Martina Sproll
(link zum Lehrveranstaltungskonzept)
Entwicklungstheorie und -politik: Fallstudien (HS/Ü)
(link zum Lehrveranstaltungskonzept)
Sommersemester 2013
Entwicklungstheorie und -politik: Fallstudien (HS/Ü)
Finanzen und Entwicklung: Fallstudien (HS), mit Barbara Fritz
(link zum Lehrveranstaltungskonzept)
Wintersemester 2012/2013
Finanzen und Entwicklung (V/Ü), mit Barbara Fritz
(links zu Lehrveranstaltungskonzept und Syllabus)
Grundfragen der Politischen Ökonomie Lateinamerikas (PS), mit Constantin Groll
(link zum Lehrveranstaltungskonzept)
Sommersemester 2012
Entwicklungstheorie und -politik: Fallstudien (HS/Ü)
(link zum Lehrveranstaltungskonzept)
Wintersemester 2010/2011
Finanzen und Entwicklung (Ü), mit Barbara Fritz
Wintersemester 2009/2010
Migration und Entwicklung (HS), mit Ursula Stiegler und Christiane Ströh
My research interest is economic development and comparative economics, migration, and finance with a special attention to the experiences of Latin American countries. Building on a background in both political science and economics, I am particularly interested in topcis at the intersection of both disciplines.
See publications for current and past research.
Research and Publications
Projects I am currently working on
- Research Leader of the Project "Immigration Enforcement across the World", funded by Fritz Thyssen Foundation (2022-2024/25)
- Violent Crime and the Long Shadow of Immigration Enforcement: Evidence from Mexico. Previous version available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3725278 (conditionally accepted at Journal of Conflict Resolution)
- Why Immigration Enforcement Backfires (with David Leblang). Based on a previous working paper: Immigration Demand and the Boomerang of Deportation Policies: Was the Migrant Caravan created in the United States? (for a short summary see here) (revise and resubmit at Demography)
- Aid Allocation and Deportation Enforcement (with Marina Monteiro Luna)
- Country-by-Country Deportation Corridors: Stylized Facts from a New Database (with Marina Monteiro Luna)
- Deportation Externalities: Evidence from El Salvador (with Andrea Velasquez and Juliana Quirioga)
- Bad Luck or Bad Policy? External Constraints and the Length of Recession Spells at the Global Periphery
Selected Journal Articles (Peer-Reviewed)
- Forced Returns Fuel Anti-Americanism: Evidence from U.S. Deportations to Latin America (with Cova Meseguer). February 2023. Global Networks. An ungated previous version can be found here.
- What Drives Remittances During a Global Shock? Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic in Mexico (with Raymundo M. Campos-Vázquez and Gerardo Esquivel). November 2023, IZA Journal of Development and Migration
- Deportations and the Transnational Roots of Gang Violence in Central America. World Development (April 2021). Previous version as Discussion Paper 2018/12. School of Business and Economics, Freie Univ. Berlin, for short summaries in spanish see here and here)
- Return Migration, Crime, and Electoral Engagement in Mexico (with Covadonga Meseguer, Electoral Studies 66, August 2020)
- Exporting Murder: Deportations and the Spread of Violence (with David Leblang, International Studies Quarterly, March 2020, paper covered in the monkey cage at Washington Post, as well as in The Crime Report). Previous version as Discussion Paper 2018/13. School of Business and Economics, Freie Univ. Berlin
- Government Reactions to Private Substitute for Public Goods: Remittances and the Crowding-Out of Public Finance. Journal of Comparative Economics 47:2 (2019), 396-415 (for a summary in spanisch, see here)
- What Explains the Speed of Recovery from Banking Crises? Journal of International Money and Finance, Vo.l 70 (February 2017), pp. 257-287
- Remittances and the Use of Formal and Informal Financial Services. World Development, Vol 77 (Jan 2016), pp. 80–98 (with Alfredo Cuecuecha). Previous Version as Discussion Paper 2014/19, School of Business and Economics, Freie Universität Berlin
- Remittances and Financial Access: Is There Really a Link and for Whom? Evidence from Mexican Household Data. The World Economy, Vol.39(7) (July 2016), pp. 664-982. Previous version as Discussion Paper 2012/8, School of Business and Economics, Freie Universität Berlin
- Remittances for Financial Access: Lessons from Latin American Microfinance. Development Policy Review 32(6), 2014, pp. 733–753 (with Barbara Fritz and Ursula Stiegler)
- Are Remittances a Substitute for Credit? Carrying the Financial Burden of Health Shocks in National and Transnational Households. World Development 46(6), 2013, pp. 143-152 (with Alfredo Cuecuecha). Previous version as Discussion Paper 2012/9, School of Business and Economics, Freie Universität Berlin
Other Articles (Selection)
- Kasino-Kapitalismus in den Tropen. Lateinamerika Nachrichten, Vol. 28, Februar 2022, pp. 28-30
- Das Bitcoin-Paradis. Südlink Magazin, Dezember 2021
- Centro y Periferia en las Relaciones Monetarias Globales. In: América Latina: movimiento de capitales y su efecto sobre el modelo liderado por las exportaciones (ed. Noemu Levy and Jorge Bustamente, 2020, UNAM)
- Chapter 19: Remittances. In: Kaltmeier et al. The Routledge Handbook to the Political Economy and Governance of the America (with Barbara Fritz and Ursula Stiegler, 2020)
- So weit von Gott, so nah an Trump. Das mexikanische Wahljahr steht unter dem Zeichen von "America First". In: Internationale Politik, 29.Juni 2018
- Remittances and the Transformation of Local Spaces. The Case of Financial Markets in Mexico. Iberoamericana, No. 48, 2012. Dossier "Entre espacios: entrelazamientos y movimientos en América Latina"
- Remittances and Financial Development: Lessons from the Salvadoran Case. Savings and Development 35(1), 2011, pp. 1-27
- Arbeitsmigration als Entwicklungschance? Remittances und die Rolle des Finanzsektors im lateinamerikanischen Kontext. Leviathan, Special Edition „Globalisierung Süd“, 2011, pp. 267–292 (with Barbara Fritz and Ursula Stiegler
- Remittances and the Financial Sector. Insights from Latin America. Forum for Interamerican Research 6(2), 2013, Special Edition „Migrations Between Spaces in the Americas“ (with Barbara Fritz and Ursula Stiegler)
- Finanzmärkte in Räumen begrenzter Staatlichkeit: Makroökonomische Stabilität und Finanzielle Inklusion aus Governance-Perspektive. In M. Beisheim et al., eds. Wozu Staat? Governance in Räumen konsolidierter und begrenzter Staatlichkeit. Baden Baden: Nomos, 2011, pp. 221–250 (with Ursula Stiegler)
- O potencial das remessas dos migrantes para a governação e o desenvolvimento financeiro no contexto EUA-México. In A. Malamud and F. Carrillo, eds. Migraciones, Cohesión Social y Gobernabilidad: Perspectivas Euro-Latino-Americanas. Imprensa de Ciências Sociais, 2011, Lisbon: ICS-Lisboa (with Barbara Fritz and Ursula Stiegler), pp. 101-128
- Financial Development and Macroeconomic Stabilization through Migrant Remittances? Potential Benefits and Policies. In: Knerr, Béatrice (ed.): Transfers from International Migration: A Strategy of Economic and Social Stabilization at National and Household Level. 2012, Kassel: Kassel University Press, pp. 129-161 (with Barbara Fritz and Ursula Stiegler)
- Finansysteme Lateinamerikas. In: Lateinamerikalexikon, Peter Hammer Verlag. 2013, pp. 109-112
- Remittances. Online Dictionary Social and Political Key Terms of the Americas: Politics, Inequalities, and North-South Relations, Version 1.0 (2012) (with Barbara Fritz and Ursula Stiegler)
- Geldsendungen von Migranten in ihre Heimatländer - ein "Manna" für wirtschaftliche Entwicklung? In: GIGA Focus Global Nr. 10, 2008 (with Barbara Fritz and Ursula Stiegler)
Conference Presentations and Lectures (Selection)
Nordic Conference on Development Economics in Gotheburg (June 2023), Annual Conference of the Research Committee on Development Economics (AEL) of the German Economic Association (Dresden, June 2019), 1st Meeting of LACEA-HUMANS Network (IDB, Washington D.C., March 2023), MPC Annual Conferences on Continuites and Change in a Migration World (European University Institute, Florence, May 2022), Annual Conference of the German Development Economics Assoociation (Hohenheim, June 2022), Annual Conference of 17th Conference of the Household in Conflict Network (University Göttingen/Online, October 2021), Economics in Pandemic Times (FU Berlin/UNAM, Online, July 2021), 13th Migration and Development Conference hosted by the World Bank (online, September 2020), Conference “Lives in Motion” at Colegio de México, Mexico (November 2019), 17th Midwestern International Economic Development Conference (online, May 2020), LACEA-LAMES Conference in Puebla (November 2019), Escuela de Gobierno y Transformación Pública, Tec de Montery, Mexico (invited seminar, November 2019), CIDE Mexico (invited seminar, August 2019), Annual Conference of the Research Committee on Development Economics (AEL) of the German Economic Association (Berlin, June 2019), ITAM Mexico (invited workshop, May 2019), FLACSO Mexico (invited seminar, March 2019), Red de Economía Politica de Latinoamérica (Bogotá, June 2018), 2nd Conference on Globalization and Development (Göttingen, May 2018), FLACSO Mexico (invited seminar, April 2018), International Political Economy Society (IPES, Austin 2017), Colegio de México (invited seminar, Oct 2017), 10th Migration and Development Conference (Clermont-Ferrand, 2017), Migration and International Political Economy (LSE, 2017), International Political Economy Society (IPES, North Carolina, 2016), 20 Years Anniversary Conference of the FMM Research Network (Berlin, 2016), Annual Conference of the German Economics Association (VfS) (Augsburg, 2016), Nordic Conference on Development Economics (Oslo, 2016), Research Seminar at the Institute of Social Studies (ISS, The Hague, 2016), Annual Conference of the Research Committee on Development Economics (AEL) of the German Economic Association (Heidelberg, 2016), Workshop on Financial Crisis Management and its Consequences in Comparative Perspective (Berlin, 2016), Annual Conference of the German Economics Association (VfS) (Münster, 2015), Nordic Conference on Development Economics (Copenhagen, 2015), Annual Conference of the Research Committee on Development Economics (AEL) of the German Economic Association (Passau, 2014), Invited Lecture at the Summer School of the Berlin Graduate School of Social Sciences (Humboldt University/WZB Berlin, 2014), Presentation at the Seminar Series for Development Economics of the Development Economics Network Berlin (DENeB), DIW Berlin, January 10th, 2014, „University Meets Microfinance”- Workshop (Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, 2013), Norface Migration Network Conference (UCL London, 2013 and 2011), Annual Conference of the Research Committee on Development Economics (AEL) of the German Economic Association (Munich, 2013)