Ifo Institute for Economic Research

The Ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich eV ( abbreviated Ifo ) is a Munich-based research organization, which is one of the largest economic research institutes in Germany with the analysis of economic policy is concerned and determines the ifo business climate index monthly.

Legal status and financing

The Ifo Institute has the status of a registered association. It is recognized by the Inland Revenue as a charity. This means, among other things, that donations to the Institute are tax-deductible.

The organs of the Association are the General Assembly, the Board, the Board of Directors, the Board of Trustees and the Scientific Committee. The board represents the association to the outside. The Chairman of the Board designated by the statute as president. In addition to the President, the Executive Board has one or two more ( s ) member (s). The Board of Directors to the Board for the supervision. It consists of two members from the Board of Trustees, two members from the Ludwig- Maximilians- University of Munich, a representative of the federal government, a representative of the Bavarian government, the chairman of the scientific committee and other members, who are elected by the General Assembly. Statute Proper function of the Trustees is to assist the Board in fulfilling the tasks of the association. The Board of Trustees shall according to the statute "at least 20 personalities from science, business, politics, trade unions and management " belong.

The Ifo Institute is funded currently about two-thirds of public funds ( in the course of joint research funding from federal and state governments over the Leibniz Association ) and about one-third of the revenues of externally funded projects, which also probably added by contracting authorities ( " scientific policy advice "). In addition, the Institute supports the so-called "Friends Society" financially. The Society of Friends is according to the website of the Ifo Institute of " individuals, business enterprises, business associations and corporations at home and abroad ".

It is associated as an institute with the Ludwig- Maximilians- University of Munich.

The Dresden branch is funded primarily from grants from the Free State of Saxony ( and to a lesser extent by external funding).

Tasks and activities

Stipulated in its articles association's purpose is the empirical economic and social research and the provision of data, information and research results in economics and economic policy sector. The results of the work are made ​​available to the public and should - be used in decision-making in science, business, politics and administration - the statute.

To meet this purpose, the Institute completed the following tasks:

  • Provision of economic data for the interested public. To this end, the Institute also organizes seminars and lectures labs and other economists. Being the most prominent economic analysis applies the prestigious Ifo Business Climate Index. The database DICE provides the Ifo Institute beyond comparing countries, systematic information on institutions and rules available. In addition, the Ifo Institute publishes several economics journals.
  • Collection of this data (eg Ifo Business Climate Index ) through surveys of companies.
  • Advice of the economic policy -influencing institutions in Germany, particularly federal and state ministries
  • Development of models to simulate the effects of interventions in the German economy.
  • Economic research: The research of the institute was very tailored to 1999 on its advisory role. On the recommendation of the Science Council a stronger academic orientation was implemented from 1999 onwards. The Ifo Institute is working as a research institution with many German universities, particularly the University of Munich, as well as numerous research institutes at home and abroad.
  • The Institute maintains a branch office in Dresden, which are analyzed in particular the economic development in Saxony and the other new countries

Employee

The Ifo Institute currently has about 193 employees, about half of whom are researchers. The director is Hans -Werner Sinn.

History

The Ifo Institute was (Ifo ) founded in 1949 as an information and research center for economic monitoring funded by the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior. For the founding generation were Wilhelm and Hans Marquart Langelütke. Both were responsible for economic statistics in the planning office of the Nazi Four Year Plan. For the analysis of convergence of the two parts of Germany, a branch was opened in 1993 in Dresden. Under the presidency of Hans -Werner sense it became a so-called " An-Institut " of the Ludwig- Maximilians- University of Munich, which was also manifested by the Name Completion " at the University of Munich " and the close cooperation with the guided also by sense CES.

Responsibilities

  • Cycle Analyses and Surveys
  • Public sector
  • Social Policy and Labour Markets
  • Human Capital and Innovation
  • Industrial Organisation and New Technologies
  • Energy, Environment and Exhaustible Resources
  • Foreign trade
  • International Institutional Comparisons
  • Branch Office Dresden ( East Germany Research)

Criticism and evaluation

The work of the Ifo Institute will be reviewed and evaluated by representatives of the Leibniz Association. From the assessment of this evaluation, the Commission funding for the Institute by the state depends. In 1998, she criticized the work of the Institute and classified it to the rank of a " research-based service facility " from.

2006 described the Evaluation Commission CESifo GmbH, a joint subsidiary of LMU and Ifo Institute, in its report as " great national institution for knowledge transfer and international cooperation " ( "great institution for knowledge transfer and international cooperation" ). At the same time she criticized but again the research performance of the Ifo Institute itself She doubted " whether all political advice of the Ifo Institute are based on sufficiently rigorous, empirical research ". The quality of econometrics has been criticized that does not comply with the international standard, in the opinion of the reviewers. Overall, the Leibniz Association, however, the progress of the Institute praised. The appointed at the Ifo president in 1999, Hans -Werner Sinn have, the Institute radically re-organized and profiled as a center of modern application-oriented economic research and scientific policy advice. The Ifo Institute is classified as a " research-based service facility ," but noted the Senate the Institute in view, return to the ranks of research facilities when presenting a coherent work program, which makes the contribution of the different departments to the mission of the Institute clearly ".

The Ifo Institute was awarded to 2009, the common support of the federal and state governments as a " device that predominantly scientific infrastructure related tasks " ( service facility ). Following presentation of the new work program and re-examination by the evaluation committee, the Joint Science Conference of Federal and State (GWK ), the Ifo Institute from January 2010 decided at its meeting on 2 November 2009, again to promote as "predominantly research-based institution ." GWK followed with your decision with the recommendation of the Senate of the Leibniz Association on 4 March 2009.

The introduced in 2012 rule Ifo Institute Evaluation by the Senate of the Leibniz Association was completed on 17 July 2013. The research activities of the Ifo Institute 's " very good, even excellent in parts ," it says in the opinion of the Leibniz Association. The Leibniz Association recognized the power of the Board and highlighted in particular the work of the president, Hans -Werner Sinn forth, which it had always managed to launch major public debates on the most diverse topics. Overall, the positive development of " research, services and consultancy works " was emphasized again

Meanwhile, count the Ifo Institute in the opinion of the Senate of the Leibniz Association of Europe's leading economic research institutes. It 'll take an important bridge between academic research and policy advice " true.

Publications

Book Series

  • Ifo contributions to economic research
  • Ifo research reports
  • Ifo Dresden Studien
  • EEAG Report
  • Ifo Economic Policy ( Edward Elgar Publishing )
  • CES Munich Lectures Series (published by MIT Press )
  • CESifo Seminar Series (published by MIT Press )
  • CESifo Book Series (published by MIT Press )

Magazines

  • CESifo Economic Studies ( Oxford University Press )
  • Ifo Schnelldienst
  • CESifo Forum
  • CESifo DICE Report
  • CESifo World Economic Survey
  • Ifo Economic Perspectives
  • Ifo Dresden reported

Working Papers

  • Ifo Working Papers
  • CESifo Working Papers
Applied science Hans-Werner Sinn Center for Economic Studies Survey methodology Integrated Authority File
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