Successful Tenure Track: Johanna Kokot appointed to W2 Professorship at the University of Hamburg
16 March 2026, by Hannes Rathjen
Photo: HCHE/Höhne
As of March 2026, the University of Hamburg has filled a position in the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences: Johanna Kokot has taken up the professorship for Economics, specializing in Behavioral Economics of Health. Following a positive tenure evaluation, her junior professorship has led to a full W2 professorship at the University of Hamburg. Prof. Kokot will thus remain a core member of the Hamburg Center for Economic Development (HCHE).
Kokot's academic career previously took her from TU Dortmund University to the University of Duisburg-Essen, where she completed her doctorate in 2018 with the highest distinction, summa cum laude, on the topic of "Risk preferences and financial incentives in health care markets." She specialized early on in the intersection of behavioral economics and healthcare.
A key focus of her work is the consistent application of experimental methodology. As an experimentalist, Kokot investigates how human behavior is driven by financial incentives and individual risk preferences. Her research provides valuable insights into how physician reimbursement systems influence the quality of medical care and which factors determine the choice of health insurance. She uses laboratory experiments to analyze complex decision-making processes under controlled conditions.
In recent years, crisis research has also become a focus of her work. As part of the European COVID Survey (ECOS), she examined public behavior during the pandemic, particularly regarding vaccination decisions and risk perception.
With the permanent appointment of her professorship, the University of Hamburg gains an expert who combines theoretical excellence with high societal relevance. In addition to her research, she is active in teaching and supervises numerous doctoral projects, thereby significantly fostering the next generation of health economists in Hamburg.
The CV of Prof. Johanna Kokot can be found here.
