Department of Economics

The University of Bonn’s Department of Economics is one of the strongest research departments in the field of economics in Europe. Through research and teaching, we aim to contribute to addressing major societal challenges and to provide impulses for effective and evidence-based economic policy. Our focus is on the education of young economists from the bachelor's to the doctoral level.

Studying

Department

Research

Jobs

News

New Study: Blue-collar workers represent workers more effectively

Blue-collar workers are more effective at representing the interests of employees in works councils than white-collar workers. This is shown by a study conducted by Thomas Dohmen’s team, spokesperson for the ECONtribute Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn, in collaboration with researchers from the Universities of Bonn and Princeton.

Centenary of Prof. Joseph Schumpeter’s appointment to Bonn

100 years ago, in the winter semester 1925/1926, Joseph Schumpeter became a professor at the University of Bonn. He taught economics here at Bonn from 1925 to 1932, when he moved on to Harvard University.

Call for Papers: Workshop for Women in Macroeconomics, Finance and Economic History

DIW Berlin and the University of Bonn are pleased to host the 6th Workshop for Women in Macroeconomics, Finance and Economic History (WIMFEH) at DIW Berlin on May 7–8, 2026.

SFB Transregio 224 receives third funding period

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved a further funding period for the Transregional Collaborative Research Center 224 “Economic Perspectives on Societal Challenges,” a joint initiative of the Universities of Bonn and Mannheim. Starting January 1, 2026, the successful research collaboration will receive funding of around 12 million euros for an additional four years.

News

Events

Wednesday Dec 10, 2025

Presentation of the Financial Stability Report 2025

Juridicum

06:15 PM - 07:15 PM

ECONtribute Public Lecture: Resilience in challenging times: What risks exist in the German financial system? How stable is the German financial system? ...

Thursday Dec 11, 2025

Prof. Joseph Schumpeter and his years in Bonn

Juridicum

06:00 PM - 08:00 PM

To celebrate the centenary of Schumpeter’s appointment to Bonn, the Department of Economics and the economics student council (Fachschaft) are co-organizing an ...

Events

Overview of recent publications

“On FIRE, News, and Expectations”

The article “On FIRE, News, and Expectations” by Benjamin Born, Zeno Enders, and Gernot J. Müller was published in The Routledge Handbook of Economic Expectations in Historical Perspective.

"How much do norms matter for quantity and quality of children?"

The article “How much do norms matter for quantity and quality of children?” by Zainab Iftikhar was published in World Development, Volume 195, November 2025, 107079.

“The healthcare costs of air pollution in France”

The article “The healthcare costs of air pollution in France” by Julia Mink was published in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.

“Mentoring and Schooling Decisions: Causal Evidence”

The article “Mentoring and Schooling Decisions: Causal Evidence” by Armin Falk, Fabian Kosse, and Pia Pinger was published in the Journal of Political Economy.

Further recent publications

Studying

The Department of Economics offers the degree programs BSc "Economics", BA "Economics" (2-subject or accompanying subject) and MSc "Economics".

Study Programs

PhD

Are you aiming for a doctorate? The Bonn Graduate School of Economics offers an English-language Doctoral Program (PhD) with an integrated Master in Economic Research for students from all over the world.

PhD Program

Institutions

Excellence Cluster

The ECONtribute Excellence Cluster in Economic Sciences conducts research on markets in the area of intersection between business, politics and society.

ECONtribute

Collaborative Research Center

The SFB TR 224 deals with equal opportunities, market regulation and financial market stability as societal challenges.

CRC TR 224

Institutes

The department is organized in a departmental structure encompassing scientific and teaching areas and is divided into five institutes for teaching and research.

Institutes