Florian Spitzer has been employed at IHS as a behavioral economist since 2018 and is part of the research group Social Sustainable Transformation. Prior to this, he worked as a University Assistant at the University of Vienna and at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. He studied Economics in Heidelberg and Copenhagen and received his doctorate in Economics from the University of Vienna in 2018.

In his research, he analyzes how institutional settings shape human behavior – in particular, how targeted design of decision-making situations can promote sustainable action. He conducts research on environmentally sustainable behaviour, e.g. in the context of mobility or sustainable investments, as well as on achieving sustainability at the individual level, e.g. in financial or health-related decisions. He uses a mix of methods, in particular laboratory, field and online experiments, as well as qualitative methods, to understand drivers and barriers of human behavior. Florian develops and teaches continuing education programmes for political and administrative decision-makers to help them understand the practical applications of behavioural science.