In a Germany-wide comparison of the economics departments with the strongest research, the Mannheim department reached second place in 2019, making it the only department to have been continuously represented in the group of the best four faculties in Germany since these comparative rankings were compiled in 2006. At the same time, it is the only department in Germany to have achieved first place three times during this period.
In the “Lifetime Achievement” category, ten Mannheim professors can be found among the top 5 percent of economists with the strongest research in 2019 – more than any other economics faculty in the German-speaking world. And Mannheim statistics expert Prof. Dr. Christoph Rothe is ranked as the best young economist in research under the age of 40 in Germany.
“I congratulate my colleagues, first and foremost Christoph Rothe of course, on this outstanding achievement. This year's ranking once again confirms the high-level of our work. It also shows that our success is not only based on the strength of individuals, but of many colleagues in the department,” says Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner, spokesman for the Department of Economics. “For the faculty, this year's result is nevertheless an incentive. If we want to maintain and expand our competitive position, we must consistently pursue our strategy of recruiting international scientists for our department.”1
The Handelsblatt ranking is compiled every two years. It is considered the leading research ranking in economics in the German-speaking world. Since 2006, the newspaper has regularly analyzed the research performance of economists working in or coming from German-speaking countries. It is based on a database that now includes publications in more than 2,200 of the world's most renowned journals. Not all publications are ranked equally, but the value of each individual publication is determined according to the quality and reputation of the respective journal.
1 Original quotation:
“Ich gratuliere meinen Kolleginnen und Kollegen, allen voran natürlich Christoph Rothe, zu dieser hervorragenden Leistung. Das diesjährige Ranking bestätigt einmal mehr das hochrangige Niveau unserer Arbeit. Es zeigt auch, dass unser Erfolg nicht nur auf der Stärke einzelner, sondern vieler Kolleginnen und Kollegen der Abteilung beruht. … Für die Fakultät ist das diesjährige Ergebnis nichtsdestotrotz Ansporn. Wenn wir unsere Wettbewerbsposition halten und ausbauen wollen, müssen wir unsere Strategie, gezielt internationale Wissenschaftler für unsere Abteilung zu rekrutieren, konsequent weiterführen. "