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ATLANTA — Florian Rundhammer’s (M.A. ’17, Ph.D. ’18) journey to Georgia State University is atypical. Originally from Austria, Rundhammer began his academic journey studying business administration. However, his pivot to economics during an exchange program at the University of Tennessee created a passion that has snowballed into the career he has today.
Rundhammer first encountered the work of Michael Price, an expert in behavioral economics and the use of field experiments, at Tennessee. Price is a former associate professor of economics at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies and a pivotal figure in his academic journey. A subsequent summer-long stint at the University of Chicago, where he served as an undergraduate research assistant for the globally recognized economist and best-selling author John List, further solidified his interest in academic economic research.
When Price moved to Georgia State, Rundhammer saw an opportunity to align his growing interest in experimental economics with the chance to work alongside a respected mentor. This led him to enroll in the Andrew Young School’s economics doctoral program, where he specialized in behavioral and experimental economics.
Rundhammer worked as a graduate research assistant for Price during his doctoral studies and fondly remembers the teachings and mentorship of other professors like Jim Cox, director of the Experimental Economics Center and Noah Langdale Jr. Chair in Economics, as well as economists Rusty Tchernis, Garth Heutel and Spencer Banzhaf.
Upon his graduation, Rundhammer’s career took off. He spent three years at Cornerstone Research before joining Grubhub’s internal research and experimentation team and rising to a managerial position. He now works at Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, where in two years he has risen from principal data scientist to senior manager of the economics team.
Interestingly, Rundhammer’s team at Walmart is led by List, who also served as his external doctoral advisor, bringing his journey full circle. List also has ties to Georgia State, where he delivered the 2022 Economics Distinguished Public Lecture on his latest book, “The Voltage Effect: How to Make Good Ideas Great and Great Ideas Scale,” at the invitation of Cox.
Reflecting on his career progression, Rundhammer shares valuable advice to all students.
“Follow your passion,” he said. “You do well in your field when you’re doing something you actually enjoy but also be flexible. If something does not pan out, there are many other opportunities that may be a better fit for you. Success comes in many different and perhaps unexpected variations.”
To learn more about all of the top ranked in-person and online economics degree programs available at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, visit its website and follow the school on LinkedIn.