Economic Policy

Subject

The Institute of Economic Policy is working on important topics of economic policy from a theoretical and empirical perspective. It consists of the two economic professorships for Theoretical Economic Policy and Social Policy (N.N.) and for Applied Economic Policy (Prof. Dr. Stephan Thomsen).

In the area of theoretical economic policy, the focus is on analyses of determination and conflicts of objectives as well as on ex ante analyses of the impact of economic policy interventions and their implementation. The work of applied economic policy includes positive analyses of the current state, forecasts of developments, and ex post evaluations of the effectiveness of economic policy measures.

Theoretical and applied economic policy are closely related: both strands of research are mutually dependent and complementary for further developing the knowledge of economic policy. The scientific analysis of economic policy ideally consists of a combination of theoretical and applied research.

Research

The research of the institute deals with a number of topics in the area of eocnomic and social policy, for example, social security, inequality and redistribution, public economics, taxation, old-age provision, labor economics, economics of education, and economics of migration.

Teaching

The institute gives lectures and seminars on basic fields of economics (majors and minors), on economic policy (three-year Bachelor program), on labor economics, public economics, and economic theory (advanced subjects in the four-year Bachelor program) as well as on economic policy and theory, health economics, and development and environment (majors in the Master program).

Center for Economic Policy Studies

The institute also includes the Center for Economic Policy Studies (Center für Wirtschaftspolitische Studien, CWS), which mainly carries out contract and project research financed by third-party funds. The CWS supplements the research and teaching of both professorships by applied work and scientific policy consultation. Hereby, it continues the competences of the former Lower Saxony Institute for Economic Research (NIW) and its network of cooperation partners and customers on regional, national and European level.