Massenberg, Julian Richard

Julian R. Massenberg is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Economics at the Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University. Prior to this, he worked as a researcher at the Department of Economics at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ in Leipzig, Germany (2017–2024). He holds a Ph.D. in Economics (Dr. rer. pol., summa cum laude, 2021) from Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg and an M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics (2016) from the University of Copenhagen.

Research interests

Julian is an environmental economist working in interdisciplinary contexts. His research focuses on the valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services and the economic analysis of environmental trade-offs, including those related to human health. He combines stated preference methods, such as choice experiments, contingent valuation, and deliberative approaches, with conceptual work on value pluralism and human motivation. He has worked on a range of topics, including soil-based ecosystem services, rewilding, large carnivore conservation, marine biodiversity and ecosystem services, and the cost-benefit analysis of environmental pollution, often addressing trade-offs in the management of multifunctional landscapes and environmental policy under climate and land-use change.

Grants

“BIOcean5D – Marine Biodiversity Assessment and Prediction Across Spatial, Temporal and Human Scales”
Horizon Europe, European Commission, €16,000,000 (2022–2026)
Co-lead of deliberative monetary valuation task; Co-author of project proposal

“REWILD_DE-2 – Sustaining Biodiversity and Creating Ecosystem Service Opportunities through Rewilding – Learning from the Oder Delta”
German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), €1,870,000 (2021–2024)
Work package leader (economic valuation); Co-author of project proposal

“REWILD_DE – Preliminary Phase”
German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), €80,000 (2020–2021)
Work package leader (economic valuation); Co-author of project proposal

Policy engagement

Julian has experience in research-based consultancy for advising national authorities. He has contributed to consultancy work for Danish environmental agencies, including reports on the economics of nature-based solutions and coastal protection.

Teaching

Julian has taught courses on Environmental Economics and Environmental Policy at Hochschule Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, and Leipzig University.

Awards

Kapp Research Award for Ecological Economics (2022), awarded by the German Society for Ecological Economics (VÖÖ), the Selbach Environmental Foundation, and the Anstiftung Foundation