Tobias Rüttenauer
Assistant Professor of Quantitiative Social Science
I am a Lecturer / Assistant Professor in Quantitative Social Science at the UCL Social Research Institute. Prior to joining UCL, I held a Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellowship in Sociology at Nuffield College, University of Oxford. I earned an M.A. in Sociology from LMU Munich and a Dr. phil in Sociology from the University of Kaiserslautern.
My research interests lie primarily in environmental sociology, spatial demography, and quantitative methods. In previous work, I have examined the spatial distribution of air pollution, the disproportionate exposure of ethnic minority groups, and patterns of selective migration. More broadly, I am interested in how environmental conditions and spatial contexts shape human behaviour.
One of my recent projects explores the impact of experiencing extreme weather events on environmental attitudes and behaviours. In another, I apply machine learning techniques to analyse internal migration trajectories and neighbourhood attainment among immigrant minorities in England. A further project investigates spatial inequalities across Europe through the lens of residential segregation.
Methodologically, my work focuses on quantitative approaches to spatial and longitudinal data, with a particular interest in computational methods and causal inference. I am also engaged in methodological research, including an investigation into the performance of two-way fixed-effects estimators and dynamic difference-in-differences estimators across various scenarios using Monte Carlo simulations.
Education
Postdoc (University of Oxford)
Dr. phil in Sociology (TU Kaiserslautern)
BA + MA in Sociology & Statistics (LMU Munich)
Research Interests
Environmental Sociology
Spatial Demography
Causal Inference
Computational Methods
Spatial Econometrics / GIS
Programming in R
News
Join the GESIS workshop 2025 on Geodata and Spatial Regression Analysis
09.07 - 11.07.2025 in Mannheim
Research on environmental inequality published in Social Forces. Ethnic minority immigrants consistently exposed to higher levels of air pollution - the immigrant disadvantage in England is three times higher than in Germany. Read the UCL press release.
Research on extreme weather events featured in The Economist, Der Standard, Wiener Zeitung, and Understanding Society.
