直到冯·瓦特在波恩大学获得经济学硕士学位，并在加州大学伯克利大学经济学博士学位。他的研究兴趣侧重于劳动力市场条件（如劳动力市场和劳动力市场的遗产）和社会成果的长期影响，年龄较大，更优势的工人。Among others, he has analyzed the persistent effects of shocks early in workers’ careers using longitudinal administrative data sets from Canada, Germany, and the U.S. His current work focuses on the effects of a job loss during mass-layoffs on short and long-term mortality outcomes, and on the effect of labor market conditions on entry into disability insurance and retirement. He has published in the American Economic Review and is a research fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Center for Economic Policy Research, and the Institute for the Study of Labor.