Nora Waitkus
Research Profile
Social Stratification | Wealth | Debt | Inequality | Economic Elites / Social Classes
In my research, I focus on investigating and explaining cross-country differences and the institutional factors that contribute to inequalities in wealth, assets, and debt. Additionally, I study class differences, housing inequalities, economic elites, and redistribution using (comparative) longitudinal household surveys, media data, and survey experiments. In my ERC Starting Grant project SOCDEBT, I examine the social structure and moral evaluation of household debt from a comparative perspective.
Selected Publications
- Becker, B., & Waitkus, N. (2025). Undeserving heirs: how the origins of wealth shape attitudes towards redistribution. European Societies, 1-31.
- Waitkus, N., Savage, M., & Toft, M. (2025). Wealth and class analysis: exploitation, closure and exclusion. Sociology, 59(1), 126-143.
- Dewilde, C., & Waitkus, N. (2023). Inequality and housing. In Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics (pp. 1-29). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
- Schechtl, M., & Waitkus, N. (2024). Where income becomes wealth: how redistribution moderates the association between income and wealth. Socius, 10, 23780231241261599.
- Waitkus, N. (2023). Ungleicher besitz. Perspektiven einer klassensoziologischen Untersuchung von Vermögen. Berliner Journal für Soziologie, 33(1), 99-135.
- Waitkus, N., & Wallaschek, S. (2022). Legitimate wealth? How wealthy business owners are portrayed in the press. Social Justice Research, 35(4), 404-435.
- Waitkus, N., & Minkus, L. (2021). Investigating the gender wealth gap across occupational classes. Feminist Economics, 27(4), 114-147.
- Pfeffer, F. T., & Waitkus, N. (2021). The wealth inequality of nations. American sociological review, 86(4), 567-602.
- Pfeffer, F. T., & Waitkus, N. (2021). Comparing child wealth inequality across countries. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 7(3), 28-49.
Current Research Projects
Table
2026 – 2031 | ERC Starting Grant. SOCDEBT: Towards a Sociology of Debt Stratification and its Moral Foundations Across Countries. Principal Investigator. 1,485.917€ |
2024 – 2026 | VENI grant, Dutch Research Council (NWO): “Varieties of Wealth Inequality: Understanding the Foundation of Cross-country Differences in Wealth”. Principal Investigator. 280.000€ |
2023 – 2027 | Tilburg University Starter Grant. PI of the project “Families, Generations, and Wealth Inequality”. Co-PI with K. Ivanova. 239.990€ |
Curriculum Vitae
Table
Since 01/2026 | Professor in Comparative Social Stratification, Heidelberg University ,Max-Weber-Institute of Sociology, |
Since 01/2025 | Visiting Professor, London School of Economics and Political Science, International Inequalities Institute |
08/2022 – 12/2025 | Assistant Professorial Research Fellow International, London School of Economics and Political Science, International Inequalities Institute |
03/2022 – 12/2024 (tenure: 2022) | Assistant Professor, Tilburg University, Department of Sociology |
09/2019 – 07/2022 | Postdoc, London School of Economics and Political Science, International Inequalities Institute |
07/2019 | PhD in Sociology (summa cum laude), University of Bremen |
03/2014 – 08/2019 | Research Associate & PhD Student, University of Bremen Department of Sociology & SOCIUM |
01/2011 – 02/2014 | Research Assistant, Berlin Social Science Center |
10/2013 | M.A. Political Science, Freie Universität zu Berlin |
05/2010 | B.A. Political Science, University of Hamburg |
2007 – 2008 | Erasmus Studies, Institut d’Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po) Bordeaux |
Memberships
- Since 2013: Advisory Board Member of the Luxembourg Income Study
Grants & Awards
Grants
- 2026 – 2031: ERC Starting Grant. SOCDEBT: Towards a Sociology of Debt Stratification and its Moral Foundations Across Countries. Principal Investigator. 1,485.917€
- 2024 – 2026: VENI grant, Dutch Research Council (NWO): “Varieties of Wealth Inequality: Understanding the Foundation of Cross-country Differences in Wealth”. Principal Investigator. 280.000 €
- 2023 – 2027: Tilburg University Starter Grant. PI of the project “Families, Generations, and Wealth Inequality”. Co-PI with K. Ivanova. 239.990 €
Prices/Awards
- 2024: Honorable Mention for Karl-Polanyi-Preis. Sektion Wirtschaftssoziologie (DGS)
- 2022: RC28 Significant Scholarship Award, ISA ($1.000)
- 2021: Aldi (Aleida Johanna Maria) Hagenaars Memorial Award, LIS (Luxembourg) (1.000€)
- 2020: SASE Early Career Workshop-Grant ($750)
- 2018: RC28 Student Travel Award, Spring 2018 (Seoul, South Korea) ($750)
- 2016: Fulbright Scholar Grant, University of Michigan (USA) ($10.000)