Ceremony at the 2016 ZEW Economic Forum - Inauguration of the New ZEW President Achim Wambach

Professor Achim Wambach, PhD, was inaugurated as the new President of the Mannheim Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in a ceremony on July 5, 2016. Wambach had already assumed the position as Director of Science and Research of the institute on April 1, 2016.

In her speech Theresia Bauer, Baden-Württemberg's Minister of Science, praised Achim Wambach as an outstanding researcher who will considerably contribute to ZEW's visibility. "Since its foundation ZEW has aimed to contribute to economic policy debates on the basis of rigorous empirical research. Achim Wambach has the energy and the enthusiasm necessary to live up to this idea." The State of  Baden-Württemberg supports Wambach's work by extending funding for the ZEW research programme "Strengthening Efficiency and Competitiveness in the European Knowledge Economies" (SEEK) for two more years with an annual contribution of 800,000 euros and by providing initial funding of one million euros for the development of the new ZEW Research Group "Market Design".

Successful collaboration in the past and future

The ZEW Director of Business and Administration, Thomas Kohl, also welcomed Wambach as the new President. According to Kohl, Wambach's research interests address questions of central concern to society, and by establishing the new Research Group, "Market Design", Wambach is providing ZEW with yet another unique string to its bow.

Dr. Alexander Selent, Chair of the ZEW Sponsors' Association for Science and Practice, as well as Professor Ernst-Ludwig Thaden, President of the University of Mannheim, recognised ZEW as one of Europe's most renowned think tanks. And as an outstanding researcher and established competition economist, Achim Wambach is the ideal candidate to take on the role as ZEW President, Thadden said.

All  the speakers at the ceremony also thanked the former President, Professor Clemens Fuest, for his successful work at ZEW, which has helped to further establish the research institute as one of the leading economics research institutes in Europe. In particular, Clemens Fuest has further defined ZEW's research areas and has increased the visibility of ZEW's international work.

New Research Group is perfect for ZEW

As the fourth President and Director of Science and Research of ZEW, Achim Wambach takes on his role from Clemens Fuest, who left ZEW at the end of March 2016. The role of ZEW President is combined with a position as Professor of Economics at the University of Mannheim. Before joining ZEW, Achim Wambach was the Director of the Institute for Economic Policy (iwp) and Director of the European Centre for Liberal Professions at the University of Cologne.

Wambach also has considerable experience in the field of economic policy advising. Since 2014, he has been a member of the Monopolies Commission, advising the German government on competition policy and regulation. In March 2016, he became Chairman of the Monopolies Commission. Since 2006, he has been Member of the Academic Advisory Board at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Wambach chaired this board between 2012 and 2015.

His research interests lie in the fields of competition and regulation, market design, energy and environment, and information technologies. His research primarily focuses on information problems in markets, in auction, energy and telecommunication markets for example, as well as in insurance and healthcare markets. His research draws on market design methods.

In his new role as ZEW President, Achim Wambach will now also focus on intensifying collaboration with the University of Mannheim. An important aspect of this is the joint doctoral programme, which is currently being developed.

Printable photos of the ceremony at ZEW can be provided upon request. Please contact Sabine Elbert at elbert@zew.de