Ifo Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung

The Ifo Institute for Economic Research is a Munich-based research institution. Ifo is an acronym from Information and Forschung (research). As one of Germany's largest economic think-tanks, it analyses economic policy and is widely known for its monthly Ifo Business Climate Index for Germany. Its research output is significant: about a quarter of the articles published by German research institutes in international journals in economics in 2006 were from Ifo researchers. [Handelsblatt: " [http://www.handelsblatt.com/news/Default.aspx?_p=302030&_t=ft&_b=1291044 Forschungsleistung der Institute: Ifo hat die Nase deutlich vorn] ", 9. Juli 2007]

Mission

* Supplying the public with economic data. The Institute organizes seminars and presentations by its own researchers and other economists. The Ifo Business Climate Index is well-known and is Ifo’s most prominent instrument for business-cycle analyses. The Institute also publishes a number of journals in economics.
* Generating its own data (e.g. Ifo Business Climate Index) via its enterprise surveys.
* Providing policy advice to influential public agencies, especially to federal and state ministries in Germany.
* Developing models to simulate the effects of market intervention in the economy.
* Research in economics. The Ifo Institute cooperates closely with many German universities, in particular with the University of Munich (LMU), as well as with numerous domestic and foreign research institutes.

Structure

The Ifo Institute is a registered society. Its statutes obligate it to be a non-profit organization that conducts empirical research in economics and the social sciences.

Two thirds of Ifo’s funding come from public subsidies (as an institution of the Leibniz-Gemeinschaft) and approximately one third from contract research and policy advice, generally commissioned by public agencies. Research for the private sector is relatively insignificant.

Staff

The Ifo Institute currently employs about 150 people, approximately half of whom are researchers. The current Ifo president is Hans-Werner Sinn.

History

The Ifo Institute was established in 1949. To analyze the merging of the two parts of Germany, a branch was opened in Dresden in 1993. Under President Hans-Werner Sinn, its official name was expanded to the “Ifo Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich” as an expression of the close cooperation between Ifo and the University of Munich (LMU) and especially with the Center for Economic Studies (CES) at LMU, headed by Hans-Werner Sinn.

Departments

* Business Cycle Analyses and Surveys
* Public Finance
* Social Policy and Labour Markets
* Human Capital and Innovation
* Industry Branch Research
* Environment, Regions and Transportation
* International Trade and Foreign Direct Investment
* International Institutional Comparisons

Report on the German economy

The Ifo Institute participates in the twice yearly (spring and autumn) joint analysis of the state of the German and world economy, the so-called "Gemeinschaftsdiagnose". [German government Web site [http://www.bundesregierung.de/Content/DE/Artikel/2006/10/2006-10-19-herbstgutachten-bestaetigt-wachstumskurs-deutsche-wirtschaft.html Bundesregierung Online De icon] ] The other institutes are:
Institut für Weltwirtschaft (IfW) in Kiel; Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (IWH) in Halle; and Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (RWI) in Essen.

Evaluation

After the last evaluation in June 2006 the Senate of the Leibniz Association favored the further funding of the Institute. The importance of the Institute was confirmed in its final report, and the progress made by the Institute was lauded; criticism of some of the service areas was expressed. [Leibniz Gemeinschaft Referat Evaluierung (Hrsg.): "Leibniz-Senat verabschiedet positive Förderempfehlungen zu fünf Leibniz-Einrichtungen", Pressemitteilung E8/2006 vom 15. Juni 2006, als PDF-Datei aufzurufen auf der WGL-Seite [http://www.wgl.de/?nid=pmeva&nid
] ] The evaluation commission, consisting of 14 international academics and 4 practitioners, summarized its assessment as follows: "The Institute's output has increased tremendously in terms of publications, organization of scientific events, and policy advice. Now, Ifo makes a very strong impression. The research activities are considered to be very good in most parts, in some cases excellent. Policy consulting is regarded as very good, too. There has been movement of the service areas.” [Leibniz Gemeinschaft Referat Evaluierung (Hrsg.): "Annex B. Evaluation Report: Ifo Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich (ifo)", in: "Ifo-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (ifo), Stellungnahme des Senats vom 14. Juni 2006, als PDF-Datei aufzurufen auf der WGL-Seite [http://www.wgl.de/?nid=ssn&nid
] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.ifo.de Ifo Website (German or English)]