Research at the Department of Economics in Mannheim is characterized by a broad spectrum of topics, and a combination of theoretical modeling, institutional analysis and empirical application. The Department has been awarded top spots in national and international rankings on numerous occasions thanks to its excellent reputation for research and the quality of the academic education it offers.
Our senior professors are currently active in the following fields of research:
Prof. Adam, Chair of International Economic Relations
- Macroeconomics (business cycles and monetary policy)
- Learning and Expectations Formation
- Asset Pricing
Prof. Ciccone, Chair of Macroeconomics and Finance:
- Growth and Development
- Macroeconomics
- Human Capital
Prof. Frölich, Chair of Econometrics:
- Impact evaluation, Treatment effects
- Microeconometrics
- Development Economics
Prof. Grüner, Chair of Economic Policy:
- The Design of Political and Economic Institutions
- Information Aggregation in Organizations
- Organization of Central Banks
- Political Economy (general)
- Political Economy of Labor Market Reform
- Strategic Interaction of Macroeconomic Players
- Wealth Distribution and Capital Markets
- Allocation of Socially Provided Goods
Prof. Janeba, Chair of Public Finance and Economic Policy:
- Fiscal Federalism and Tax Competition
- Fiscal Rules and German Debt Brake
- Political Economy of Redistribution
- Globalization and the Welfare State
Prof. Krebs, Chair of Macroeconomics:
- Business Cycles
- Financial Economics
- Economic Theory
Prof. Nocke, Chair of Microeconomics:
Industrial Organization
- Mergers
- Market Structure
- Industry Dynamics
- Competition Policy
International Trade
- Foreign Direct Investment
- Firm Heterogeneity
Applied Microeconomic Theory
Prof. Orzen, Chair of Business Economics:
- Experimental Economics
- Strategic Interaction
- Competition in Markets and Contests
- Behavioral Economics
Prof. Peitz, Professor of Applied Economics:
- Industrial Organization
- Microeconomic Theory
- Regulation and Competition Policy
Prof. Rothe, Chair of Statistics:
Prof. Sovinsky, Chair of Economic Theory and Behavioral Economics:
- Industrial Organization
- Applied Health Economics
Prof. Streb, Chair of Economic History:
- Historical Economics of Innovation
- Industrial Policy and Procurement in the Third Reich
- History of the German Social Insurance System
- Regulation of Public Utilities in long-term Perspective
Prof. Tertilt, Chair of International Economics:
- Macroeconomics
- Family Economics
- Consumer Credit
- Growth and Development
Prof. Trenkler, Chair of Empirical Economic Research:
- Univariate and Multiple Time Series Analysis
- Cointegration Analysis
- Bootstrapping Cointegration Tests
- Threshold Models
- Economic Integration and Border Effects
- Exchange Rate Policy
Prof. Tröger, Chair of Economic Theory:
- Game Theory
- Auctions
- Negotiations
- Mechanism Design
Prof. von Thadden, Chair of Microeconomic Theory:
- Financial Markets and Institutions
- Game Theory
- Contract Theory
- Political Economy
Prof. Wagner, Chair of Quantitative Economics:
- Environmental Economics
- Industrial Organization
- Public Economics
Prof. Wambach, Chair of Economics:
- Markets and Information
- Market Design
- Industrial Organization
Nine professors from the Department are involved in Collaborative Research Center 884, “Political Economy of Reforms”, which was established in 2010. This center represents an interdisciplinary research network consisting of the Department of Economics and the School of Social Sciences at the University of Mannheim, the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES), and the Mannheim-based ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
On January 1, 2004, the leading German universities in the field of economics, Mannheim, Bonn, Munich, and Berlin, founded Transregional Collaborative Research Center 15 “Governance and the Efficiency of Economic Systems”. This research center is the first of its kind in Germany. Its objective is to advance the approaches found in Game Theory and Contract Theory, and their application in the fields of corporate governance and industrial organization. The Department of Economics and the Business School at the University of Mannheim as well as the Mannheim-based ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research are all participating in the program. The Department of Economics is currently involved in three projects: C2 – “Intellektuelles Eigentum, Aneignung von Innovationserträgen und Innovationswettbewerb”, C6 – “Kommunikations- und Transporttechnologien, Industrie- und Regionalstruktur” and C9 – “Transparenz und Liquidität auf Finanzmärkten”.
Members of the Department are active in a range of German Research Foundation (DFG) priority programs and research units, national and international research networks, etc. You can find out more under Department Members' Accomplishments.
The Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences (GESS), which has been funded through the German Excellence Initiative since 2006, is the first in Germany to provide doctoral degrees that combine Economics, Business Administration and the Social Sciences. The doctoral program in Economics is available at the Center for Doctoral Studies in Economics (CDSE). Doctoral candidates spend their first four semesters completing the high-level course program which prepares them for the independent academic work necessary to complete their doctoral dissertation. The program consists of mandatory courses which teach doctoral candidates about core elements of economic research areas using the latest research developments. The elective component of the program enables doctoral candidates to attend lectures in order to specialize in their preferred research area(s). Specific seminars give doctoral candidates the opportunity to process, present and discuss their research findings at an early stage.
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