Stephan Heblich is Associate Professor and Munk Chair of Eonomics at the University of Toronto.

Before he was a Reader (Associate Professor) in Economics at the University of Bristol, UK. Previously, he worked at the University of Stirling, UK and the Entrepreneurship, Growth, and Public Policy Group at the Max Planck Institute of Economics in Jena, Germany. He studied Economics at the University of Passau, Germany, and the University of Lund, Sweden. He was a research assistant at University of Passau from 2004 until 2007 when he received his PhD. In 2009 he was a visiting researcher at the University of Toronto.

In his research, he looks at spatial disparities in the distribution of human capital, innovative activities and entrepreneurship that explain differences in regional economic development. Another stream of research focuses on causes and consequences of regional disparities in voting behavior. To establish causality he often studies historic developments that explain present-day economic outcomes.

His research is published in journals including the American Economic Review, Journal of Urban Economics, Labour Economics, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Journal of Economic Geography, Regional Science and Urban Economics, and Journal of Human Capital.

He joined IZA as a Research Fellow in July 2010.