WirtschaftsWoche Lists ZEW Researchers Among Outstanding Economists Under 40

The German weekly business magazine WirtschaftsWoche ranks two researchers from ZEW Mannheim in their list of outstanding economists under the age of 40. According to WirtschaftsWoche, Professor Vitali Gretschko and Dr. Simon Reif are among those who are actively shaping the future by working on groundbreaking topics and providing valuable impulses for Germany.

“We want to take the knowledge from science and carry it into practice,” asserts Gretschko, head of the ZEW Research Department “Market Design”. His team deals with practical issues such as the efficient design of auctions, e.g. in mobile telephony and procurement, or with so-called ‘matching markets’, e.g. the allocation of daycare places and food donations, which are not coordinated exclusively by price because this is either not possible or socially undesirable. The team is currently investigating the question of what energy markets of the future might look like.

The research of Dr. Simon Reif, who is responsible for the ZEW Project Group “Health Care Markets and Health Policy”, goes in a similar direction. He deals with economic factors influencing the provision of medical services as well as determinants of individual health. This includes digital health applications prescribed by doctors and the evaluation of their benefits, as well as the design of hospital payment systems.

Congratulations to Vitali Gretschko and Simon Reif on representing the “Next Generation” in economics!