[ D] In today's meeting, the Supervisory Board of the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) at Mannheim appointed Prof. Dr. Clemens Fuest, Oxford University, successor to ZEW President Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Wolfgang Franz. On March 1, 2013, Clemens Fuest will start at the top of ZEW, heading the institute as Director of Science and Research together with Thomas Kohl, Director of Business and Administration. Wolfgang Franz will retire and leave his position as ZEW President by the end of February 2013. read more
The university choice of highly skilled applicants is influenced by university rankings as well as by the German quality label "University of Excellence". However, compared to other criteria, excellence and rankings play a rather minor role. The university's proximity to the parents' place of residence is still the most important factor concerning the decision for a university. This is shown by a current study of the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim founded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. read more
In January, ZEW asked financial market experts to assess the risk of a decline in German GDP in the first quarter of 2012. According to the experts this risk has increased since October 2011 when they were interviewed for the last time. But still, the more popular view among the respondents is that there will be at least a small positive growth rate of the German GDP during this year's first three months. The experts are more optimistic about the second quarter 2012. They consider the likelihood of a positive growth in German GDP higher than for the ongoing first quarter. These are the findings of a survey among approximately 200 financial market experts, conducted by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in January 2012. read more
On January 1, 2012, a new research group started operating at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW). The new research unit will investigate economic issues in the field of competition and regulation. A special focus lies on network industries such as the gas and electricity or the rail and aviation sectors. The objective of the new research group is to deal with topics which have recently become more important, such as the enforcement of cartel law under private law or the competitive implications of the German energy transition. read more
The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany has increased by 32.2 points in January 2012. The indicator now stands at minus 21.6 points. This is the highest level of the indicator since July 2011. Nevertheless, the indicator is still below its historical average of 24.5 points. read more
The ZEW-CS Indicator rebounded in January 2012, increasing by 21.9 points to minus 50.1 points. This is the strongest increase since April 2011 and the highest level of the indicator since June 2011. read more
The ZEW-Erste Group Bank Economic Sentiment Indicator for Central and Eastern Europe including Turkey (CEE) has improved by 14.8 points and reaches a level of minus 26.6 points in January 2012. The increase in experts' expectations is consistent with their overall expectations for the eurozone. The respective indicator for the eurozone has significantly increased by 30.9 points to a level of minus 32.7 points – the highest level since July 2011. read more
Within the ZEW research programme "Strengthening Efficiency and Competitiveness in the European Knowledge Economies" (SEEK), the state of Baden-Württemberg is funding international cooperation between researchers of all economic disciplines. Therefore, the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) welcomes the submission of project proposals. The deadline for project proposals is January 30, 2012. Projects must be carried out in close cooperation between ZEW researchers and international project partners. For each project, the budget requested may be up to 200,000 euros for a duration of 12 to 18 months. read more
The Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim, Germany, is holding its 10th Conference on the Economics of Information and Communication Technologies on June 28-29, 2012. The conference objective is to discuss recent scientific contributions to the economics of information and communication technologies (ICT) and the economics of ICT industries. Theoretical, empirical and policy- oriented contributions are welcome. Please submit papers as PDF or MS Wordfile to ict-conference@zew.de no later than March 20, 2012. read more
We invite submissions for the SEEK/CEPR Workshop on the role of news, sentiment, and confidence in business cycle fluctuations. The objective of the workshop is to discuss recent scientific contributions in the subject area and to provide a platform for an exchange of ideas within a small group of researchers. Late-stage PhD students as well as young post-docs are particularly welcome to submit papers for presentation. The workshop is organised within the framework of the research programme "Strengthening Efficiency and Competitiveness in the European Knowledge Economies" (SEEK) by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim (Germany), the University of British Columbia in Vancouver (Canada), the Toulouse School of Economics (France), and the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London (United Kingdom). Please submit extended abstracts or full papers as PDF to seymen@zew.de no later than February 1, 2012. Additional information on the conference
The Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) and the University of Mannheim are pleased to announce the inaugural conference of the Leibniz ScienceCampus "Mannheim Centre for Competition and Innovation" (MaCCI). The major objective of MaCCI is to stimulate and disseminate research in the area of competition, regulation, and innovation policy. The inaugural conference aims to provide a platform for research and discussion between academic researchers and professionals in state authorities, legal counsel and economic consultancies in the aforementioned fields. Theoretical, empirical, as well as case study-oriented articles are welcome. We especially encourage the submission of papers by lawyers focusing on EU competition and/or comparative competition law. Full papers as well as extended abstracts may be submitted. All proposals must include the following information: An abstract of up to 200 words, authors' full name and affiliation, contact details for corresponding author such as address, phone, and e-mail. All papers or abstracts should be submitted electronically to the organising committee via macciinaugural2012@zew.de as word or pdf file (preferably pdf) no later than February 1, 2012. Young researchers are particularly encouraged to submit proposals. Additional information on the inaugural MaCCI Conference
The Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) is pleased to announce a conference on "The Role of Expectations in Financial Markets". The conference aims to provide a platform for an international, interdisciplinary dialogue on expectation formation in financial markets and the economic impact of expectations. We invite interdisciplinary contributions from the fields of economics, finance, cognitive sciences etc. Preference will be given to empirical papers applying survey data, experimental data, transaction data, market-based expectations data as well as any further data applied in novel approximations of expectations. Full papers including an abstract of up to 200 words should be submitted to expectations-conference2012@zew.de no later than February 29, 2012. Additional information on the conference
The Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) is pleased to announce the Competition and Innovation Summer School 2012, sponsored by ZEW, K.U. Leuven, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE), and the European Science Foundation (ESF). This workshop, located in Turunç/Marmaris, Turkey, offers young interested researchers within the fields of the economics of innovation and competition the possibility to intensively discuss their dissertation plans or drafts within a peer group of experienced and renowned scholars, as well as other PhD students and post-doc researchers in a great environment. Formal lectures will be held every morning, providing students with detailed knowledge on current topics of innovation, the economics of science and intellectual property rights, empirical competition analysis and contemporary issues in theories of industrial organization. Students' presentations and workshops on research methodologies and tools will take place in the afternoon. Applications are welcome from advanced PhD students and post-doc researchers. Please submit an extended abstract of the paper you intend to present, a letter of support from your PhD supervisor, and your CV to ciss2012@econ.kuleuven.be. The deadline for submission is January 31, 2012. Additional information and application
In the fourth quarter of 2011, the information industry in Germany has recovered slightly from the weak economic sentiment during the third quarter. The ZEW Economic Sentiment Indicator for the Information Industry increases by five points to 61.6. This improvement of the economic sentiment in the fourth quarter is mainly due to the developments in the ICT sector, which has recovered considerably after a strong decline in the previous quarter. These are the findings of an economic survey conducted in December 2011 by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim in cooperation with Creditreform, Neuss, among representatives from the information industry. read more
