Teaching at the Institute of Economic Policy

Area of Expertise in Empirical Economics

• Tutorial Empirical Economics (270073)

  	Time and room:	Lecturer:
  	Fri. 14:30 - 16:00 | VII-002	Meier
  Contents:	Review of the lecture content of the Empirical Economic Research course in preparation for the repeat exam. The review will be based on practice exercises.
  Comments:	The refresher tutorial takes place in weeks 16, 17, and 19.

Area of Expertise in Economics

• Colloquium Data Processing and Analysis (272074)

  	Time and room:	Lecturer:
  	Fri. 14:30 - 16:00 | I-233 (Group 1)	Bruns, Wolf
  	Fri. 14:30 - 16:00 | I-233 (Group 2)	Bruns, Wolf
  Comments:	The webpage of the Institute of Economic Policy provides detailed information on the colloquium, including information on the mandatory registration process. Das Kolloquium kann nicht belegt werden, wenn bereits Leistungspunkte über 272073 "Seminar in Economic Policy: Data Processing and Analysis" erworben wurden.

Area Economic Policy and Theory

• Foundations of Economic Policy (372001)

  	Time and room:	Lecturer:
  	Mon. 09:15 - 10:45 | I-301	Thomsen
  Contents:	Preliminary outline Section 1: Current Elective Topic Section 2: Preliminary Remarks and Introduction Section 3: Framework Conditions of Economic Policy Section 4: Foundations of Welfare Theory Section 5: Market Failure and the Prisoner's Dilemma Section 6: The Role of the Market and Market Interventions Section 7: What Should Scientific Policy Advice Accomplish?
  Literature:	Basic literature: Weimann, J.: Wirtschaftspolitik, Allokation und kollektive Entscheidung (Economic Policy, Allocation, and Collective Decision-Making), 5th edition, Springer Verlag, 2009 (4th edition also possible, available from Springer Online) Further literature on the chapters will be announced in the lecture.

• Exercise: Foundations of Economic Policy (372016)

  	Time and room:	Lecturer:
  	Fri. 11:00 - 12:30 | I-301	Meier

• Bachelor's and Master's Theses Colloquium (372020)

  	Time and room:	Lecturer:
  	Block course (Group 1)	Thomsen
  	Block course (Group 2)	Bruns
  	Block course (Group 3)	Wolf
  	Block course (Group 4)	Meier
  	Block course (Group 5)	Rupieper
  Contents:	Die Betreuung erfolgt themenbezogen auf individueller Basis.

• Doctoral Seminar Economic Policy (372026)

  	Time and room:	Lecturer:
  	Wed. 09:15 - 10:45 | Other room	Thomsen
  Contents:	Within the doctoral seminar on economic policy, current and prospective doctoral students present their own research project (preferably) on a topic in economic policy (e.g. unemployment, education, migration, climate change, etc.) and discuss it with the other seminar participants. The focus is on quantitative-empirical work. Information for prospective doctoral students (master students): Prospective doctoral students work on an independent research question using scientific methods and present the results. Close supervision of the research progress by the supervisors is an essential part of the seminar. The seminar is an excellent preparation for a later research and academic career (doctoral studies). Prospective doctoral students are expected to have good to very good knowledge of empirical research and quantitative, econometric methods. Data access can be provided by the Institute of Economic Policy (e.g. data from statistical offices, Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) etc.). Prospective doctoral students write a term paper of about 10-15 pages plus appendices, explanations, codes. They have compulsory attendance at meetings and present their work.
  Comments:	The seminar takes place weekly during the semester. Depending on the number of registered students, the rhythm of the seminar may be irregular. Further information about the seminar for PhD students Further information about the seminar for master students

• Labor: AI-ready scientific knowledge (372033)

  	Time and room:	Lecturer:
  	Mon. 14:30 - 16:00 | Other room	Stocker
  Contents:	The laboratory will first introduce the problem, motivation, state of the art, techniques and solutions. We will introduce services and techniques for the production and publication of analysis-ready machine-processable scientific knowledge as well as the machine-assisted reuse of scientific knowledge. During the hands-on second part of the laboratory, students will apply the learned techniques to articles authored by research staff at selected university institutes or, if applicable, also to articles the students have co-authored themselves. Finally, the laboratory will showcase how machine-assisted use of scientific knowledge can support advanced knowledge presentation (visualization) and knowledge synthesis in research.
  Literature:	(1) Ghaemi et al. (2025) "Advancing Scientific Knowledge Retrieval and Reuse with a Novel Digital Library for Machine-Readable Knowledge" https://doi.org/10.1145/3726302.3730134 (pre-print https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.08476); (2) Stocker et al. (2025) "Rethinking the production and publication of machine-readable expressions of research findings" https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-04905-0. Link: https://knowledgeloom.tib.eu
  Comments:	This is an interdisciplinary laboratory open to interested students from all institutes and faculties. The laboratory is of particular relevance to students in disciplines that employ (statistical) data analysis methods and open computing environments such as Python and R. Research staff, e.g. doctoral students, are welcome to attend the introductory lectures. The hands-on second part of the laboratory is limited to approximately 20 students. Mo. 14:00 - 17:30 in Raum 235, Gebäude 3703.

Several Areas

• Advances in Distribution Theory (379060)

  	Time and room:	Lecturer:
  	Block course	Hoover
  Contents:	The students deepen their knowledge of basic statistics. The students intensify their knowledge of the topic “Income Distribution” and learn new knowledge about theories related to the topic-specific contents of the course (Income Inequality, Income Measurement Theory, Income Redistribution and Public Policy). Modeling Income Density Functions: Fitted Distributions, Log-Normal Distribution Goodness of Fit Measures: Mean Absolute Deviation, Mean Squared Error, Chi-squared, K-S Statistic Alternative Income Density Models: Log-Logistic Model, Singh-Maddala Model, Dagum Model, Champernowne 5-parameter Model Summary Measures for Distributions: Mean, Median, Mode Income Inequality: Gini, Coefficient of Variation, Theil Measure, Atkinson Measure, Discrete Measures Redistribution of Income Welfare Programs and Reform: Policy Feedback, Equivalence Scales
  Literature:	Campano, F., and Salvatore, D. (2006). Income Distribution, 1st edition, Oxford University Press.
  Comments:	The course will be given by international guest lecturer Gary A. Hoover in June. The course will take place twice a week during June, starting June 2nd. Tuesdays 9.15-10.45 Room: 1507.004 Thursdays 11-12.30 Room: 1503.115 Performance assessment, only for doctoral students: subject-specific examination format (to be announced during the course). The exam date for master's students is wednesday 29th of july from 10-11 a.m.

• Education Economics (379075)

  	Time and room:	Lecturer:
  	Fri. 14:30 - 16:00 | I-332	Peter
  Literature:	Bradley, S. & Green, C. (eds.) (2020): The Economics of Education. United Kingdom: Academic Press. Borjas, G. (2023): Labor Economics, ninth edition, Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

1. Area: Professional skills

• Advances in Distribution Theory (379060)

  	Time and room:	Lecturer:
  	Block course	Hoover
  Contents:	The students deepen their knowledge of basic statistics. The students intensify their knowledge of the topic “Income Distribution” and learn new knowledge about theories related to the topic-specific contents of the course (Income Inequality, Income Measurement Theory, Income Redistribution and Public Policy). Modeling Income Density Functions: Fitted Distributions, Log-Normal Distribution Goodness of Fit Measures: Mean Absolute Deviation, Mean Squared Error, Chi-squared, K-S Statistic Alternative Income Density Models: Log-Logistic Model, Singh-Maddala Model, Dagum Model, Champernowne 5-parameter Model Summary Measures for Distributions: Mean, Median, Mode Income Inequality: Gini, Coefficient of Variation, Theil Measure, Atkinson Measure, Discrete Measures Redistribution of Income Welfare Programs and Reform: Policy Feedback, Equivalence Scales
  Literature:	Campano, F., and Salvatore, D. (2006). Income Distribution, 1st edition, Oxford University Press.
  Comments:	The course will be given by international guest lecturer Gary A. Hoover in June. The course will take place twice a week during June, starting June 2nd. Tuesdays 9.15-10.45 Room: 1507.004 Thursdays 11-12.30 Room: 1503.115 Performance assessment, only for doctoral students: subject-specific examination format (to be announced during the course). The exam date for master's students is wednesday 29th of july from 10-11 a.m.

3. Area: Scientific skills

• Doctoral Seminar Economic Policy (574003)

  	Time and room:	Lecturer:
  	Wed. 09:15 - 10:45 | Other room	Thomsen
  Contents:	Within the doctoral seminar on economic policy, current and prospective doctoral students present their own research project (preferably) on a topic in economic policy (e.g. unemployment, education, migration, climate change, etc.) and discuss it with the other seminar participants. The focus is on quantitative-empirical work. Information for prospective doctoral students (master students): Prospective doctoral students work on an independent research question using scientific methods and present the results. Close supervision of the research progress by the supervisors is an essential part of the seminar. The seminar is an excellent preparation for a later research and academic career (doctoral studies). Prospective doctoral students are expected to have good to very good knowledge of empirical research and quantitative, econometric methods. Data access can be provided by the Institute of Economic Policy (e.g. data from statistical offices, Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) etc.). Prospective doctoral students write a term paper of about 10-15 pages plus appendices, explanations, codes. They have compulsory attendance at meetings and present their work.
  Comments:	The seminar takes place weekly during the semester. Depending on the number of registered students, the rhythm of the seminar may be irregular. Further information about the seminar for PhD students Further information about the seminar for master students

• The German Economy and the European Union (77101)

  	Time and room:	Lecturer:
  	Block course	Bruns, Gruszka
  Contents:	The course "German Economy and the European Union" consists of two parts: Germany and the European Union The German Welfare State Part 1 Germany and the European Union: Analytical preliminaries: tools of economic thinking; German Economy: historical and institutional background; German Economy: economic facts and performance; EU: integration by “widening” and “deepening”; EU: economic and political identity; EU: institutions and joint decision-making; EU: the budget and the fiscal rules; European Monetary Union: making and crises; European Monetary Union: insights and solutions; Evaluation and Outlook. Part 2 The German Welfare State: Historical Origins Welfare State in the German Social Markt Economy Education System System of Social Security - Unemployment Insurance - Health Insurance - Pension Scheme - Long-term Care Insurance The Welfare State as Threat for the Social Market Economy
  Literature:	Part 1: instead of literature the students will be provided with exercise sheets and hand-outs to be studied. Part 2: Will be provided
  Comments:	This course is part of the HISSEMA. More information can be obtained from HISSEMA/GUEST Coordinator, Ms. Nino Iden (Room I-101). Admission is restricted to HISSEMA-Program students.