I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Göttingen, Chair of Development Economics and Global Health. Former member of the Research Training Group 2654 Sustainable Food Systems. I was a visiting researcher at the University of Edinburgh and the 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 approaches.

Research areas

Development Economics, Poverty, Food Security, Health

News

• VoxDev Blog: When vocational training applicants fare better in business training programmes, 31.07.2026.

• Awarded the 1st Prize for Excellence in Applied Development Research by the German Economic Association and KfW Development Bank for my dissertation.

• Received the Florenz Sartorius Prize for the best dissertation in economics in 2025, awarded by the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Göttingen.

• Finalist of the German Thesis Award (Deutscher Studienpreis).

• Nominee of the Ludwig-Erhard-Prize.

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.
• Squarcina M, Hänsch J, Montoya Cepeda FM, Pallauf M, Paz B, Stehl J, Wehner J, Wollni M (2026). Developing a multidimensional resilience index for farm households: A food system approach. World Development, 202: 107342.
  
  

Discussion Papers

• Stehl J (2026). Food expenditure shares across consumption distributions worldwide.
• Stehl J, Sibhatu K, Jaacks LM, Vollmer S (2025). Food Sourcing and Diets: Evidence from 45 Low- and Middle-Income Countries.
• Zenker J, Stehl J, Chakravarty S, Lundberg M (2025). Wrong Fit, Missed Gains? Evidence from Skill Training Choices in Liberia.