ZEW Proves Itself as a Leading Economic Research Institute

In the fiscal year of 2016, the Mannheim Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) proved it has a competitive edge. Despite the strong national and international competition for third-party funding, the proportion of ZEW funding originating from third-party sources remained on a high, steady level in 2016 at 44 per cent (2015: 46 per cent). 19 per cent of the institute’s financial resources were obtained from research projects for the European Union. Thanks to the successful handover of the ZEW Presidency and the excellent evaluation the institute received from the Leibniz Association in the year of its 25th anniversary, ZEW was able to strengthen its already prominent position as one of the leading economic research institutes in Europe. The founding of the new Research Group “Market Design” demonstrates the traditionally innovative character of ZEW, one of the institute’s distinguishing features.

In 2016, ZEW’s third-party funding amounted to 8.2 million euros (2015: 8.9 million euros). This success is not to be taken for granted, especially since the framework conditions for acquiring funds have become considerably stricter compared to previous years as a result of increased national and international competition for third-party funding. The most important clients in terms of third-party funding are German and foreign government agencies, e.g. from Denmark, Austria, and Switzerland, which make up 33 per cent of the ZEW client base. The share of EU funds amounts to more than 19 per cent of the entire third-party funding obtained by the research institute. Taken together, the share of third-party funds from the German Research Foundation (DFG) and other foundations was equal to 15 per cent in 2016. Federal states in Germany (13 per cent), companies and associations (eleven per cent) as well as research institutions (nine per cent) also played a significant role in the acquisition of third-party funding. With total revenues amounting to approximately 19 million euros in the fiscal year of 2016, ZEW was able to maintain its leading position in the face of global competition.

A top rating for ZEW

Thanks to the commitment of the ZEW staff, the institute was able to strengthen its position as an economic research institute with an outstanding international reputation, which is reflected in the excellent evaluation ZEW received as part of a regular external evaluation by the Leibniz Association. Every institution within the Leibniz Association is subject to regular external evaluations which take place at least once every seven years. As part of the evaluation, internationally renowned experts assess the structure and achievements of every institution by way of written documents and an on-site visit. After the assessment in March 2016, ZEW received a rating of very good to excellent from the Senate of the Leibniz Association for its research work on current and important issues such as Brexit, the euro crisis, digitalisation as well as the risks associated with political protectionism on the basis of a wide variety of methods. Following on from the very good rating the institute received in the previous evaluation in 2009, two decisive factors contributed to the very good to excellent rating ZEW received in 2016: the comprehensive bank of empirical data compiled by ZEW and the high-quality economic policy advice provided by the institute.

Farewell to long-serving members of the Scientific Advisory Council

The excellent outcome of the evaluation by the Leibniz Association would also not have been possible without the support of the Scientific Advisory Council, which took an active role in the preparations for the evaluation. As an advisory committee, the Scientific Advisory Council is actively involved in drawing up ZEW's research programme and strategy plan. The fact that ZEW is able to provide high-quality research and policy advice is not at least thanks to the commendable work of the Scientific Advisory Council. In 2016, ZEW bid farewell to six long-serving members of the Scientific Advisory Council who helped shape the research and advisory work at ZEW with their dedication and wealth of expertise. Those given an honourable send-off included Professor Friedrich Buttler, former State Secretary at the Brandenburg Ministry of Science, Research and Culture and former chair of the Scientific Advisory Council, as well as Professor Arnold Picot, head of the Institute of Information, Organization and Management at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and vice-chair of the Scientific Advisory Council. The excellent rating ZEW received in this year’s as well as in the previous evaluation is not only testament to the considerable efforts of the Scientific Advisory Council but also to the successful handover of the ZEW presidency to Professor Achim Wambach in April 2016.

Scientific success

In the context of the official ceremony which marked the change of ZEW presidency and coincided with the 2016 ZEW Economic Forum as well as the ceremony celebrating ZEW’s 25^th anniversary, around 550 national and international guests from the realms of politics, economic, academia and society came together to celebrate the institute’s success. In the year of its 25^th anniversary, ZEW also purchased its own building in Mannheim city centre. The change of ZEW presidency also expanded the scope of economic research carried out at ZEW. The aim of the new Research Group “Market Design”, which was introduced by ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach, is to analyse as well as actively design individual markets and institutions. The State of Baden-Württemberg is supporting the development of the new ZEW Research Group by providing initial funding of one million euros. In terms of scientific contributions, ZEW researchers were very productive last year. In 2016, researchers at ZEW published a total of 74 articles in renowned international peer-reviewed journals. Giving more than 430 presentations at national and international scientific conferences, ZEW researchers also continued to share their scientific expertise with the international scientific community in 2016. Altogether, ZEW worked on approximately 230 scientific projects in the previous year.

Network well beyond the borders of Europe

ZEW contributed to the public discourse on important and current political issues in 2016 with events such as the Lunch Debates in Brussels covering topics like the digital future of Europe, the Capital Markets Union, Brexit and a common European unemployment insurance scheme. Other events included the presentation given by the EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, on innovation competition in Europe, and with projects such as the Real-World Laboratory, which focuses on asylum seekers in the Rhine-Neckar region. This year, the growing international network of ZEW extended well beyond the borders of Europe. In collaboration with the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), one of the most important associations of American economists, ZEW organised the Trans-Atlantic Public Economics Seminar (TAPES) with a special focus on social security schemes in June 2016. The TAPES Conference is one of the most prestigious conferences in the world of financial economics, and brought together many prominent international researchers to discuss recent research findings at ZEW.

We would be happy to send you a printed version of the ZEW Annual Report 2016. Please send your request via e-mail to Angela Haybat: haybat@zew.de

For further information please contact:

Thomas Kohl, Phone +49 (0)621 1235 111, E-mail kohl@zew.de