Welcome
How is the wealth of nations created? And how can this prosperity be secured in the long term in times of multiple crises that do not stop at national borders?
These are the questions addressed by the team of the Chair of Economic Policy. Innovations and the wise use and the further development of technologies play an important role in this context. However, it is also important how the interactions between the state, the economy and society are organized. This institutional setting can and must also be shaped and evaluated on a regular basis. Innovations and the rules we give ourselves must be consistently developed together to address the global challenges and secure prosperity in the long term.
We work quantitatively within the framework of theoretical models (dynamic macro theory, game theory). In addition, we apply modern methods of data analysis (natural language processing, time series analysis, synthetic control).
Publications
Narek Mirzoyan, Ingrid Ott and José Ricardo Castro are using synthetic control method to analyze the effectiveness of the Diesel Ban policy in reducing NO2 emissions in four German cities – Stuttgart, Berlin, Hamburg and Darmstadt. A list of all publications from the chair can be found here.
Research
We collaborate with colleagues on the following projects: Real Lab Robotic AI and Clean Circles - Iron as an Energy Source for a Climate-Neutral Circular Economy.
The workshop is a research-intensive forum for PhD scholars in innovation economics, addressing how scientific knowledge contributes to societal and economic impact through innovation and diffusion.
Organized by the Chair of Economic Policy in cooperation with ZEW, ISI, TU Munich, TU Berlin, University of Hohenheim, Université de Strasbourg, and with support from: KIT Center for Human and Technology, eucor, and the CuKnow Graduate School. The workshop combines PhD-driven research with structured academic exchange.
The program focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship, diffusion processes, organization of science, artificial intelligence, public R&D support, and sustainability-oriented transformation, contributing evidence-based insights for shaping innovation systems.
Dr. Resul Zoroğlu completed a research stay at ENS Paris-Saclay with Dr. Cyril Rouault from November 15 to 20, 2025. The focus of the stay was the completion of the joint working paper “Designing Rebate Rules in Public Goods Provision: Axioms, Limits, and Comparisons.”
The paper examines axiomatic requirements for rebate rules in the provision of privately financed public goods. Building on the theoretical model, the next steps for an accompanying experiment were also designed to empirically test the results of the theory.
The research stay strengthens international cooperation and contributes to the further development of institutional economic analysis.
In the next edition of Science Bench, Prof. Dr. Ivan Savin will talk about “Climate Policy Feasibility across Europe Relies on the Conditional Middle.”
• Wednesday, November 26, 2025, starting at 3 p.m.
• at TRIANGEL STUDIO, Kaiserstrasse 89, Karlsruhe
Ivan Savin is a KIT alumnus and currently Associate Professor of Quantitative Analytics at ESCP Business School, Madrid Campus. His research interests include innovation economics, environmental economics, climate policy, complex systems, and evolutionary economics. His CV and further information can be found here.
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Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Time: 17:00–18:00
Venue: Seminar Room, Building 01.87 | Room B5.25/26, Rüppurrer Str. 1a | 5th Floor
Lecture Topic:
Conditions and pathways for a climate club to reach a more ambitious global treaty
Learn from Ivan Savin, Associate Professor of Quantitative Analytics at ESCP Business School, Madrid campus, under which conditions a climate club can emerge and grow, what role border tariffs and revenue redistribution play, and how these mechanisms influence global cooperation.
Further details on the study can be found here: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4124770/v1
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The entire Chair team warmly congratulates Dr. Resul Zoroğlu on the successful completion of his oral doctoral examination. After three intensive years at the Chair of Economic Policy and a seven-month research stay at the Chair of Prof. Utku Ünver and Prof. Tayfun Sönmez at Boston College, he has been awarded the doctoral degree Dr. rer. pol. by the KIT Faculty of Economics and Management with the highest possible distinction summa cum laude.
The title of his dissertation is:
“Three Essays on Institutional Design and the Provision of Public Goods”.
— Congratulations, Resul – we are proud of you!
From September 30 to October 4, 2025, Prof. Dr. Ingrid Ott and Narek Mirzoyan (research assistant at the chair) traveled to Yerevan, Armenia, on behalf of KIT to explore partnerships with the American University of Armenia (AUA) and the National Polytechnic University of Armenia (NPUA).
During their stay, they held talks with representatives of the AUA and the NPUA, focusing on possible cooperation in research, guest stays, and student exchanges. The visit was complemented by a campus tour and insights into Armenian culture and hospitality.
Special thanks go to: Ms. Elena Pfeifer from INTL for her support in the run-up to the trip, Ms. Ani Mamikonyan from NPUA, and Ms. Karine Khachatryan from NPUA for the interesting discussions and concrete ideas.
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Our research associate Resul Zoroğlu took part in the 8th Lindau Nobel Meeting in Economic Sciences, which brought together leading Nobel laureates and outstanding young scientists from around the world in 2025. A total of 20 laureates and around 300 young scientists gathered in Lindau to discuss current developments and key issues in economics.
Resul Zoroğlu participated on the recommendation of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). During the conference, intensive technical discussions took place with several Nobel Prize winners, including Jean Tirole, Eric S. Maskin, and Simon H. Johnson, on topics related to the institutional design of public goods and the economic policy design of collective decision-making processes.
The exchange with the laureates and with international young researchers provided valuable impetus for ongoing research at the Chair of Economic Policy.
In February 2025 our research associate Narek Mirzoyan participated in the third Financial Geography Winter School (24-25 February 2025) and Conference (26-28 February 2025) at the National University of Singapore. Narek's participation in the events was made possible by a travel grant from the Singapore Journal of Tropic Geography and financial support from the graduate school CuKnow.
More details in the dedicated article
Resul Zoroğlu, research assistant at the Chair of Economic Policy, completed a seven-month research stay at Boston College in the United States from September 2024 to March 2025 as part of his doctoral studies in economics. The focus was on academic exchange with the internationally recognised pioneers of market and mechanism design, Prof. Utku Ünver and Prof. Tayfun Sönmez, as well as work on his own research project closely related to their work.