Ifo Annual Report 2014
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Annual Report 2014 Presented at the 66th Ifo Annual Meeting on 12 June 2015 Published 2015 for the Ifo Institute Poschingerstr. 5, 81679 Munich, Postbox 860460, 81631 Munich, Germany Phone: +49/(0)89/9224-0, Fax: +49/(0)89/985369 Internet: http://www.cesifo-group.de; email: [email protected] ISSN: 2194-928X Editor: Marga Jennewein Translations: Lisa Giani Contini Printing: Ifo Institute Ifo Annual Report 2014 Page The Goals and Tasks of the Ifo Institute . 7 Report of the Executive Board . 10 The Research and Service Departments Ifo Center for Public Finance and Political Economy . 25 Ifo Center for Labour Market Research and Family Economics . 29 Ifo Center for the Economics of Education . 32 Ifo Center for Industrial Organisation and New Technologies . 44 Ifo Center for Energy, Climate and Exhaustible Resources . 55 Ifo Center for International Economics . 63 Ifo Center for International Institutional Comparisons and Migration Research . 70 Ifo Center for Business Cycle Analysis and Surveys . 73 Library . 83 Press, Publications, Conferences . 84 Dresden Branch . 93 Munich Society for the Promotion of Economic Research – CESifo GmbH . 105 Conferences, Publications and External Relations of the Ifo Institute . 112 Personnel, Finances and Organisational Bodies Personnel Development . 117 Financial Development . 123 Organisation of the Ifo Institute . 126 3 Ifo Annual Report 2014 The Ifo Institute 2014 The Goals and Tasks of the Ifo Institute Since its foundation in January 1949 Ifo has provided deals with European and global issues. It strives to both information and research, hence its name Ifo = meet the highest academic standards and contributes Information and Forschung (research). Its legal form to policy advice and the economic-policy debate. It is is that of a registered, non-profi t association. The Ifo committed to providing services for research and the Institute is one of Europe’s leading economic research general public. In addition, Ifo intensively promotes institutes and is also the most frequently cited insti- junior researchers in economics. tute in the media. A cooperation agreement links Ifo closely with the University of Munich (LMU), and in Research at the Ifo Institute is guided by setting social- Research aligned with 2002 Ifo was offi cially proclaimed an “Institute at the ly recognised goals. These targets include maintaining social goals University of Munich”. the performance levels of the social market economy, rising to the demographic challenges ahead, ensuring The Center for Economic Studies (CES) of the LMU, the stability of the economy and the fi nancial system, the Ifo Institute and the Munich Society for the Pro- surviving global competition against a background of motion of Economics – CESifo GmbH pool their re- growing technological change and protecting the en- sources within the CESifo Group to form an inter- vironment. national research alliance. The group aims to enrich the public debate based on excellent theoretical and Like all other Leibniz institutions, the Ifo Institute is empirical economics research, to support economic subject to tough evaluations that are conducted once policy-making decisions with high-quality policy ad- every seven years by the Leibniz Association Senate. vice, and to provide the public with highly-regarded As in past evaluations, the Ifo Institute also performed economic information like the Ifo Business Climate excellently in its latest evaluation, which was com- Index. The research activities of the CESifo Group pleted with the Statement of the Leibniz Association are closely related to extensive contributions in terms dated 17 July 2013. of teaching and promoting junior economists, which involves close cooperation between the Ifo Institute In this statement the Leibniz Senate established that and the LMU. At the heart of the CESifo Group is the the Ifo Institute had very successfully achieved its CESifo researcher network, which consists of former mandate of conducting: “applied policy-oriented eco- Ifo performs strongly in CES guest researchers. nomic research, providing research results, data and Leibniz evaluation information to interested individuals from academia, As a member of the Leibniz Association the Ifo In- business, politics and the general public.” It found that stitute is an institution that receives public funding the Ifo Institute makes: “signifi cant research contribu- from the federal and state governments on the ba- tions that are internationally recognised and acts as sis of Article 91b of the German Constitution. On an important bridge between academic research and 1 September 2011 the name of the Ifo Institute was policy advisory work […] The amount of research, modifi ed by means of a change to its Articles of As- service and advisory work done has developed excel- sociation. Since then its offi cial name has been: Ifo lently. The Ifo Institute is now one of Europe’s leading Institute – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at economic research institutes.” the University of Munich. The evaluation result is particularly gratifying for the Ifo is an independent institution that makes its ser- Ifo Institute as the Leibniz Senate and the internation- vices available to all groups of society regardless of al group of experts commissioned by it attest to the their political orientation. It is a European think tank institute’s excellent performance at all levels and in that serves as a bridge between academic research all fi elds of work – from research and policy advisory and practical politics. It concentrates on applied, work to services, the promotion of junior researchers policy-oriented economic research with the goal and infrastructure. The Senate also mentioned that of achieving greater stability, growth and societal co- the institute’s Executive Board has done “impressive hesion. The research of the Ifo Institute increasingly work” in recent years. Ifo’s President is one of “Ger- 7 Ifo Annual Report 2014 The Goals and Tasks many’s leading academics” who repeatedly succeeded doctoral programme is particularly attractive thanks in: “initiating major public debates over a broad range to the fact that it combines academic research with of economic policy issues.” the institute’s practical, policy-orientation. The reorientation of research and services in the Ifo The scientifi c research carried out at the Ifo Institute Institute has been a resounding success. The work is subject to the “Rules of good scientifi c practice” done in the Ifo Institute’s eight research departments drafted by the German Research Foundation (DFG), Improvement was evaluated as very good overall, and as excellent as well as to the gender equality standards estab- in quality and quantity in some cases. The quantity and quality of the insti- lished by it. The Ifo Institute is seeking to gradually of publications tute’s publications has improved further since the last address the existing under-representation of women evaluation and is now excellent. It is also worth high- among its researchers through its particularly inten- lighting the very positive comments made about Ifo’s sive support of young female academics. infrastructure services, and especially the signifi cance of personnel management as a key success factor, Politics and the general public benefi t from the close as well as quality management and cost and perfor- link between the Ifo Institute and the university, as mance accounting. this link reinforces the institute’s academic perfor- mance and fi rst-class research is the foundation for Ifo’s 8 research centers – Public Finance and Politi- the policy work that the institute sees as its core task. cal Economy, Labour Market Research and Family The report (2013) of the Leibniz Senate group of Economics, The Economics of Education, Industrial experts states: “As part of its policy advisory work, Organisation and New Technologies, Energy, Climate Ifo participates very actively in public debates over and Exhaustible Resources, International Economics, the best economic policy ideas and concepts. With International Institutional Comparisons and Migration its research results and policy recommendations, it is Research and Business Cycle analysis and Surveys – helping to develop reform ideas and make Germany Focus on policy advice cover research topics that are also highly relevant fi t for the future.” Ifo’s policy work is also refl ected in for policy advice. The Ifo Dresden branch, founded a large number of expert reports commissioned by in 1993, works in areas that are of special interest to public and private sector clients on topical economic the Free State of Saxony, from which it receives its policy issues. Ifo was among the institutes to submit a funding. successful bid for the joint economic forecast tender, issued for the fi rst time at a European level in 2007; In its international activities the Ifo Institute cooper- and bid successfully again in the 2010 and 2013 ten- ates very closely with CESifo GmbH and the CESifo ders. This enabled Ifo to further consolidate its lead- researcher network supervised by the latter. As the ing position in economic monitoring. The Ifo Institute Leibniz Senate confi rmed in its Statement of 17 July also makes its expertise available to the public sector 2013, CESifo GmbH has an important role to play institutions of other countries – especially in those in the cooperation between the Ifo Institute and the states that do not belong to the OECD. Center for Economic Studies (CES) at the LMU. The cooperation with CESifo is an