A Visit from BZE Mannheim

Accompanied by their teacher Matthias Reichensperger, thirteen students from the independent educational institution BZE Mannheim visited ZEW on 27 October 2023. What distinguishes ZEW from an economics faculty? How do research findings make their way to the public, and what does a day in the life of researchers look like? These are some of the questions that were answered for the students.

To begin, Dr. Daniela Heimberger, head of ZEW’s “International Co-operation and Public Relations” Unit, gave a presentation on ZEW’s key data and research foci. The students learned what scientific work entails: fact-based, independent and unbiased research. ZEW Mannheim helps to make sense of economic developments and to develop solutions for current challenges. In this regard, empirical data are fundamental for economic policy-making.

Next, Justus Nover, researcher in the ZEW’s “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance” Unit, gave the students a peek into his daily work. Using the concrete example of a ZEW study on the quality of political decisions, he shed light on the federalist structure of the German education system. The study was based on a survey of more than 10,000 people, as well as of the entire German state parliament, on the quality of education policy in their respective state. The proposal to increase transparency on educational performance was met with a high level of approval among politicians from higher-performing states, while it enjoyed little approval among politicians from lower-performing states. By visiting ZEW, the students gained a comprehensive impression of what it looks like to conduct empirical economic research.