Our Team

We are a dedicated team, focused on delivering quality results for our clients.

  • Dr. Ben Kriechel

    Dr. Ben Kriechel

    Managing Director

    Dr. Ben Kriechel is Managing Director of Economics & Data ED23 GmbH. His research focuses on empirical labour market research and research methods. After completing his PhD at Maastricht University (NL), he specialised in survey methodology, personnel economics, labour market dynamics, labour market monitoring and forecasting. Ben Kriechel was a project manager at the ROA research centre at Maastricht University and has had research stays at Brandeis University, NORC at the University of Chicago, University of Arhus, and IZA in Bonn. He is a Research Fellow at the IZA in Bonn and the Research Centre of Education and the Labour Market (ROA) in Maastricht.

  • Tim Vetter

    Tim Vetter

    Senior Policy Analyst

    Tim Vetter is a Policy Analyst who is specialized in the analysis of labour markets and education systems. His main research interests are in quantitative and qualitative analysis of sectoral labour markets, digitalisation, demographic change and its impact on social security systems and the labour market, as well as on quantitative methods including survey design and indicator development. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Economics (LMU Munich) and completed his Master’s Degree in Governance (State distance-learning university Hagen). He has worked on several projects on behalf of institutions like the ILO, the German Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS), the European Training Foundation (ETF), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Cedefop, or the Bertelsmann Stiftung. He has a strong foundation in programming (Stata, Python, Java, C#) and is experienced in working with survey tools like Limesurvey and Epidata

  • Dr. Chiara Kofol

    Dr. Chiara Kofol

    Senior Economist

    Dr. Chiara Kofol is a Senior Economist specialized in empirical labour market research both in developed and developing countries. She obtained her MSc in Economics at University College London and a PhD from Royal Holloway, University of London. She has extensive experience in data analysis and econometric methods, and she lead several projects on labour markets both in developed and developing countries. She worked for organisations such as the EU Commission, Cedefop, ETF, ILO, the World Bank, and UNESCO. She has co-written the country reports for the Cedefop mid-term forecast and co-led the development and interpretation of the extended methodology on Skill Mismatch indicators in ETF partner countries. She published multiple reports and articles in peer-reviewed journals.

  • Vanessa Diener

    Vanessa Diener

    Empirical Economic Researcher

    Vanessa Diener holds a Master of Science in International Economics with a focus on Development Economics from the University of Göttingen, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a focus on Statistics from the University of Hohenheim. During her studies, she gained valuable academic and practical experience in Colombia, Peru, and Argentina. Since August 2024, she has been working as an Empirical Economic Researcher at Economics & Data ED23 GmbH in Munich. Previously, she gained expertise in empirical research at the GIGA Institute in Hamburg, as well as in the areas of monitoring, evaluation, and project management at KfW Development Bank and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Her consulting activities in the public sector at KPMG and in projects for international organizations at Mainlevel Consulting allowed her to gain extensive experience in project- and contract-based work.Her research focus is on the analysis of labor markets in countries neighboring the European Union. Vanessa brings comprehensive knowledge in quantitative methods and data analysis, particularly with Stata and RStudio.

  • Dr. Christina Klug

    Dr. Christina Klug

    Senior Data Manager

    Dr. Christina Klug holds a degree in Sociology from Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and earned her doctorate in Social Sciences from Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg. She possesses extensive expertise in data management and data analysis. Her research primarily focuses on labor market transitions and early childhood education and care (ECEC). Dr. Klug works with the IAB Job Survey and contributes to projects with the Bertelsmann Stiftung.

  • Maryna Melnyk

    Maryna Melnyk

    Economist

    Maryna Melnyk specializes in research on the labour market and education system in developing countries in South Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia.  She studied Economics at the Vadym Hetman National Economic University in Kyiv (BA in Business Economics) and Geography at the Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv (MA in Geography). She works on many international projects of statistical support of the European Training Foundation on the research of the labour market policy, monitoring of the education system, studying of skills mismatch, sociological surveys and others. Maryna Melnyk is responsible for international relations with the State Employment Services and National Statistical Offices in the ETF partner countries. She has deep knowledge of STATA and SPSS programs.

  • Ines Stiller

    Ines Stiller

    Survey Specialist

    Ines Stiller studied sociology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University München. With her many years of experience in the areas of survey design and data collection, she is involved in the IAB Job Vacancy Survey and the Bertelsmann Fachkräfte-Radar KiTa und Grundschule (labour market monitor for educators).

  • Birgit Rödel

    Birgit Rödel

    Assistant

    Birgit Rödel studied law and assists in the administrative area and in the job survey.

  • Heike Schell

    Heike Schell

    Data Entry

    Heike Schell studied teaching at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (1st state examination). She then worked in various areas of marketing and journalism. She provides support in all areas of data entry, occupational coding and the development of new methods, particularly in the area of job surveys.

  • Daniela Schmid

    Daniela Schmid

    Assistant

    Daniela Schmid is a trained bank clerk. She assists with the IAB job survey and in the administrative area.

  • Lukas Schmid

    Lukas Schmid

    Research Assistant

    Lukas Schmid (research assistant) studies economics at the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich. He joined Economics and Data in the fall of 2023, supporting the IAB vacancy survey and several international projects.