Trans-Atlantic Public Economics Seminar at ZEW
Events
From June 13 to 15, 2016, the Trans-Atlantic Public Economics Seminar (TAPES) was hosted in Mannheim by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW). The conference, initiated by one of the most important associations of American economists, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), is one of the largest events held in the field of public finance in the world. Over three days, around 30 participants discussed findings from current research on social insurance programmes.
Every two years, the TAPES conferences see some of the most prominent financial researchers from Europe and the US come together to network and discuss current research contributions. This year, the conference was organised by Professor Andreas Peichl, head of the ZEW Research Group "International Distribution and Redistribution", and Roger Gordon from UC San Diego. Amongst the renowned researchers and scientists who attended the event in Mannheim were Sir Richard Blundell (University College London; ZEW Research Associate), Martin Feldstein (Harvard University), Amy Finkelstein (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Hilary Hoynes (University of California at Berkeley), Henrik Kleven (London School of Economics), Wojciech Kopczuk (Columbia University New York), Bruce Meyer (University of Chicago), Jim Poterba (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Rafael Lalive (University of Lausanne) and Josef Zweimüller (University of Zurich). Further participants travelled to the event in Mannheim from San Diego (University of California), Ithaca, New York (Cornell University), London (Institute for Fiscal Studies), Vienna (Vienna University of Economics and Business), Milan (Bocconi University) and Bonn (Institute for the Study of Labor, IZA).<o:p></o:p>
Topics relating to social security at the heart of scientific exchange<o:p></o:p>
The seminar focused on the topic of social insurance. The presented research contributions dealt with topics such as the optimal design for health and disability insurance, the incentive effect associated with unemployment and social insurance, the role played by the complexity and salience of pension systems in savings decisions, as well as the impact of family policy on birth rates. The research contributions were both theoretical and empirical. Owing to a rigorous selection procedure prior to the seminar, the quality of the research presented was extremely high.<o:p></o:p>
Key to the TAPES events is the small number of participants. Once again, the small group size resulted in a great deal of interaction and discussion amongst the participants. Young researchers in particular benefited from the lively contributions which established researchers made to discussions. Alongside discussion of the presented research contributions, the seminar also gave participants an opportunity to network. The seminar thereby contributed to informal exchange amongst researchers. The conference participants made a group visit, for example, to the historical old town and castle in Heidelberg. A further highlight of the programme was the dinner, sponsored by local firm Freudenberg, which was held at the company's historical headquarters in Weinheim. During the dinner, Dr. Ralf Krieger (CFO Freundenberg; Deputy Chairman of the ZEW Supervisory Board) gave a presentation about the company. <o:p></o:p>