Research

The question regarding the determinants of long-term economic development has always been a central theme within economic research. What leads to the rapid changes in economic development as pertaining to the industrial revolution, or which determinants are responsible for the fact that many countries have never experienced an equivalent development boost?

The research activities of the Chair for Population Economics concentrate on the interaction between the population structure and economic development.

The focus is on research examining the role of the living environment, as well as that of the demographic structure for the long-term dynamics of development processes. Particular emphasis is placed on the changes in life-expectancy, fertility and educational behavior.

Institutions are undoubtedly another central determinant of long-run development. However, how institutions are created, which changes they go through, why they continue to exist even when they constrict the economic development, are all fundamental questions. A further core-area within our research centers on these questions and examines the roles of inequality, cultural factors and preferences within this context.

Preferences and attitudes in diverse contexts also play a key role in economic behavior and ultimately in economic development. The distribution of such attitudes amongst the population is therefore the central theme of a further research area.  How for example, can risk-tolerance, patience or trust be measured? How are these preferences distributed in the population, and how are preferences formed, through which factors are they influenced and which economic relevance do they possess? Further research projects deal with subjects deriving from the areas Labor Economics, Personnel Economics and Education Economics.

The chair’s teaching covers compulsory lectures in Macroeconomics and offers diverse lectures and seminars on themes such as Long-Run Growth, Labor Economics and Personnel Economics.

The chair is in a cooperation with Melessa
Link Melessa experimental Labor