ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy, a joint initiative of the Universities of Bonn and Cologne, is funded as a Cluster of Excellence.

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Research Areas

All research activities are organized in nine closely related research areas, combining the interdisciplinary research approach of the Cluster.

Young ECONtribute Program

The Young ECONtribute Program (YEP) is a special program for doctoral students working on markets and public policy or related Cluster topics.

Equal Opportunity at ECONtribute

ECONtribute has implemented several measures to promote equal opportunity

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Scientific Approach

A comprehensive analysis of markets & public policy necessitates a number of different tasks. Please click on the fields for more information.

Challenges for public policy: market failures, policy failures
Challenges for public policy: market failures, policy failures

01

A first task is the identification of market failures and policy failures in light of structural changes in the economy, giving rise to new challenges for public policy.

Analysis of policy responses: Human behavior, Economic theory
Analysis of policy responses: Human behavior, Economic theory

02

Economic theory delivers predictions on how market outcomes are affected by alternative policies, i.e. it enables an analysis of policy responses. This requires an understanding of the relevant drivers of human behavior in the given context, such as the extent to which behavior is driven by monetary incentives, by other motives, such as concerns for fairness, or by behavioral biases.

Implementation and evaluation institutional constrains, Casual effects
Implementation and evaluation institutional constrains, Casual effects

03

The third task comprises the implementation and evaluation of the proposed policy. The implementation process has to take institutional constraints into an account, such as legal frameworks or political implementability. An important task is the evaluation of policy measures, i.e. the identification of their casual effects. Naturally, the implementation of policies raises new challenges of public policy, closing the circle.

01

01

A first task is the identification of market failures and policy failures in light of structural changes in the economy, giving rise to new challenges for public policy.

02

02

Economic theory delivers predictions on how market outcomes are affected by alternative policies, i.e. it enables an analysis of policy responses. This requires an understanding of the relevant drivers of human behavior in the given context, such as the extent to which behavior is driven by monetary incentives, by other motives, such as concerns for fairness, or by behavioral biases.

03

03

The third task comprises the implementation and evaluation of the proposed policy. The implementation process has to take institutional constraints into an account, such as legal frameworks or political implementability. An important task is the evaluation of policy measures, i.e. the identification of their casual effects. Naturally, the implementation of policies raises new challenges of public policy, closing the circle.

About section image

About

ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy, a joint initiative of the Universities of Bonn and Cologne, is funded as a Cluster of Excellence in the German Excellence Strategy. The goal of the Cluster is to advance a new paradigm for the analysis of markets & public policy in light of fundamental societal and technological challenges.