The JKU economist remarked: "I consider admission to the academic a great honor and an opportunity to meet and work together with outstanding international colleagues." Winter-Ebmer is an expert in labor market research and was inducted into the German Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina) in 2009. This honor was followed by admission to the Academia Europaea. He is also co-director of the Kurt Rothschild School of Economics and Statistics at the JKU.

Initiated and created by the European Ministers of Science in 1988, the Academy coordinates research on European-wide scale in all various scientific fields, supports research in Europe, and serves as an advisor to governments and international organizations.