The Institute for Applied Economic Research, located in Tübingen, Germany, is an independent research institute at the University of Tübingen. The IAW’s objective is
to apply economic and social research to issues relating to the private and public economy. Its scientific work contributes to the empirical basis for economic policymaking.
In the following, you will receive an overview of the individual subjects. For more information please click on the topic of interest.
In this field of research, IAW mainly focuses on impact analyses and process-accompanying evaluations of various labor market policies. Another research topic are the effects of legal regulations on the labor market.
Demographic change, the shortage of skilled workers and the increasing inequality of market incomes are central challenges for the social security system. Our research focuses on poverty and wealth, social mobility, rehabilitation and retirement, and working conditions in care.
Research on education issues is an important field of research at the IAW. The focus is on the transition between school and work, on the development of training and further education, on digitization processes in the education sector and on the returns to education.
The IAW feels closely connected to the state of Baden-Württemberg and its economic and social development. In many research projects, we examine current challenges, opportunities and risks of companies and employees in different industries and regions of Baden-Württemberg.
We investigate the significance of international trade and migration for incomes and employment in the state of Baden-Württemberg and the German economy. The focus of our research lies in trade agreements as well as European Integration on goods and factor markets.
Due to demographic change, the topics of migration and integration will gain in importance in the future. Quantitative questions becoming increasingly important for the national economy, e.g. forms of managing immigration and the attractiveness for potential migrants, while qualitative questions may treat about criteria for successful integration.
IAW News 1/2025 (in German)
Award of the Norbert Kloten Prize for Applied Economic Research 2025 to:
Mr Jan Jacobsen, M.Sc. for his Master's thesis Do Finfluencers Give Good Investment Advice? A large-scale, LLMpowered Analysis of the Profitability of Investment Recommendations on YouTube. Supervisor: Professor Dr Dominik Papies, Chair of Marketing at the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen.
Photo: Deutsche Bundesbank
From left to right: Prof Dr Martin Biewen, Director of the IAW, Jan Jacobsen and Dr Patricia Staab, President of the Head Office of the Deutsche Bundesbank in Baden-Württemberg.
Lecture
Germany in international tax competition (in German).
Photo: Deutsche Bundesbank
Professor Dr Dr h.c. Clemens Fuest (Professor of Economics at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and President of the ifo Institute).
Panel discussion
Photo: Deutsche Bundesbank
Following the year of recession in 2024, gross domestic product (GDP) in Baden-Württemberg could grow slightly again in 2025. The latest nowcast from the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IAW) and the University of Hohenheim predicts real growth in economic output of 0.2 per cent for the first quarter of 2025. The forecast growth rates for the second and third quarters of 2025 are also positive.
The ongoing debates about reducing bureaucracy make it clear how much bureaucratic burdens characterise the everyday lives of citizens and companies, but also the public administration itself. Bureaucratic hurdles can have far-reaching consequences, particularly in social law and the granting of social benefits. In a current IAW article, the reasons for the complexity of this problem and various approaches to reducing bureaucracy in social law, some of which have already been implemented or are in the process of being implemented, are outlined.
In order to enable people to work longer and avoid unemployment, jobs and labour promotion must be adapted to the needs of older employees and the unemployed. To this end, for example, health promotion should be improved within the framework of SGB II (citizens' benefits) and SGB III (labour promotion). There should be labour market programmes specifically for older employees in order to avoid or at least shorten periods of unemployment in the transition to retirement.
IAW guest article (in German) in a series on the future of pension provision by Table.Media, Berlin.
