Laurens Defau is an experienced economist with an interdisciplinary mindset. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Economics from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and has published multiple articles in international peer-reviewed journals.

In the last years, he worked on different research projects – from behavioral economics and digital marketing, to real estate investments and fiscal policy. He believes that in today’s world, the most thrilling scientific discoveries are done where disciplines meet – and that’s what he tries to bring into practice every day.

At the JKU, Laurens teaches the course Quantitative Research Methods, showing business students step-by-step how to plan and perform their own research project. In his free time, he enjoys cooking vegetarian meals and walking through the Austrian countryside.

Publications

PAPERS IN SSCI-JOURNALS:

Vangeel, W., Defau, L. and De Moor, L. (2021) The influence of a mortgage interest deduction on house prices: evidence across tax systems in Europe. The European Journal of Finance (in press). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1351847X.2021.1941173, öffnet eine externe URL in einem neuen Fenster

Defau, L. and De Moor, L. (2021) The investment behavior of pension funds in alternative assets: Interest rates and portfolio diversification. International Journal Of Finance & Economics 26(1): 1424-1434. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.1856, öffnet eine externe URL in einem neuen Fenster

Defau, L. and De Moor, L. (2020) The investment costs of occupational pension funds in the European Union: A cross-country analysis. The European Journal of Finance 26(1): 84-94. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1351847X.2019.1656094, öffnet eine externe URL in einem neuen Fenster

PAPERS IN OTHER PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS:

Vangeel, W., Defau, L. and De Moor, L. (2020) The influence of a mortgage interest and capital deduction policy on house prices: A regional study for different housing types in Belgium. Journal of Property Investment & Finance 38(6): 563-577. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JPIF-08-2019-0102, öffnet eine externe URL in einem neuen Fenster

Defau, L. and De Moor, L. (2018) The impact of plan and sponsor characteristics on pension funds’ asset allocation and currency diversification. Journal of Asset Management 19(1): 27-37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41260-017-0058-3, öffnet eine externe URL in einem neuen Fenster