I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Göttingen, member of the Research Training Group 2654 Sustainable Food Systems and the Chair of Development Economics and Global Health. Currently visiting Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

My work focuses on food security and poverty, primarily in low- and middle-income countries. Drawing on large cross-country and geospatial data, I study dietary patterns around the globe, focusing on the affordability of nutritious foods and the role of self-sufficiency and market dependencies at both micro and macro levels. I also investigate the long-term persistence of these patterns. Additionally, I examine the conceptual foundations of poverty and investigate whether labor market programs can effectively alleviate it.

In my research, I use descriptive, experimental, quasi-experimental, and machine learning techniques.

My research has been supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the European Centre for Advanced Studies (ECAS), and the Joachim-Herz Foundation.

Research areas

Development Economics, Poverty, Food Security, Health

Publications

• Stehl J, Vonderschmidt A, Vollmer S, Alexander P, Jaacks LM (2025). Gap between national food production and food-based dietary guidance highlights lack of national self-sufficiency. Nature Food 6, 571–576 (2025).
• Stehl J, Depenbusch L, Vollmer S (2025). Global poverty and the cost of a healthy diet. Food Policy, 132: 102849.
  
  

Discussion Papers

• Stehl J, Sibhatu K, Jaacks LM, Vollmer S (2025). Food Sourcing and Diets: Evidence from 45 Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Preprint available at Research Square. Revise and resubmit from Nature.
• Squarcina M, Hänsch J, Montoya Cepeda FM, Pallauf M, Paz B, Stehl J, Wehner J, Wollni M. Developing a multidimensional resilience index for farm households: A food system approach. SustainableFood Discussion Paper No. 14. Revise and resubmit from World Development.

Work in progress

• Food Consumption Seasonality In Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Joint work with Sebastian Vollmer and Liesbeth Colen.
  • Poster EAAE 2025
• Ancestral subsistence practices and food consumption today. Joint work with Sebastian Vollmer.
• Wrong fit, missed gains? Evidence from skill training choices in Liberia. Joint work with Juliane Zenker, Shubha Chakravarty, and Mattias Lundberg.
• Targeting training to improve cost-effectiveness: Machine learning inference on heterogeneous treatment effects. Joint work with Juliane Zenker.