Max Planck Institute of Economics

Portrait: Max Planck Institute of Economics

The Max Planck Institute of Economics was established in Jena on September 1, 1993 as the first institute of economic science of the Max Planck Society. While its original research focus was the transformation of a formerly socialist national economy, the institute now concerns itself with a broader spectrum of questions such as economic change in general, experimental economics, as well as business behaviour. Today, the MPI of Economics consists of closely co-operating research groups, namely the Evolutionary Economics Group (director: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Witt), the Strategic Interaction Group (director: Prof. Dr. Werner Güth), as well as a Minerva Research Group (group leader: Maria Vittoria Levati).

The admission and care of national and international contacts is an important principle of the institute. The international and national co-operation with other researchers, universities and research establishments is reflected through several joint projects as well as the exchange of scientific research through events such as talks, conferences, and workshops.

Moreover, the institute has established numerous training meetings and support for junior scientists. It takes part in the recently established Jena Graduate School Human Behavior in Social and Economic Change at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena. Integrated in this framework, the institute has established two graduate programs in cooperation with a variety of scientific partners: The International Max Planck Research School on Adapting Behavior in a Fundamentally Uncertain World (IMPRS Uncertainty) and the doctoral program "The Economics of Innovative Change".

Jena Economic Research Papers

The Max Planck Institute of Economics and the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena share the peer reviewed joint research paper series Jena Economic Research Papers (JERP). JERP provides research papers of both institutions in electronic form under www.jenecon.de. The latest addition from our Institute: "The Analysis of Risk Attitude Amongst Family Members" by Philomena Bacon, Anna Conte and Peter Moffatt.

Papers on Economics & Evolution

The Evolutionary Economics Group edits the "Papers on Economics & Evolution", a series with a 20-year-long tradition. Several renowned economists have contributed, including K. Binmore, R. Day, N. Foss, J. Foster, B. Loasby, S. Metcalfe, J. Mokyr, R. Nelson, E. Ostrom, and S. Winter. Issues back to 2004 can be downloaded here. The most recent addition: "Pursuing Happiness" by Christian Schubert.

Media coverage

The Max Planck Institute of Economics in the media: The rubric "Media Coverage" makes selected articles and broadcasts about research from the Institute available.