Helmut Rainer is a Professor of Economics at the University of Munich and Director of the Center for Labor and Demographic Economics at the ifo Institute. Before joining Munich, he was a faculty member at the School of Economics and Finance at the University of St. Andrews. He earned my Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Essex in 2005. Helmut Rainer's research lies in applied microeconomics, with a particular focus on family economics and labor economics. He recently served as President of the European Society of Population Economics (ESPE). In addition to academic work, he is actively engaged in policy advising. He was a member of the German Federal Government's expert commission for the Second Gender Equality Report, and he has contributed to several policy evaluations for German ministries.