Research

RFBerlin’s research has a strong economic focus, with an emphasis on applied and data driven research on significant and relevant challenges to the welfare state in a global world. Our work is carried out impartially and based on objective scientific principles, adhering to the highest standards of academic excellence. The goals of our research are to inform, to raise the standard of public debate and to create the best possible basis for political decision making.

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ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin
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Agenda

RFBerlin’s research agenda is organised into 3 main themes.

Equity, Inclusion & Opportunity
Equity, Inclusion & Opportunity
Migration & Global Collaboration
Migration & Global Collaboration
Technology, Trade & Human Capital
Technology, Trade & Human Capital

Discussion papers

No. 146/25 - December 2025

Designing Debt Restructuring: The Adverse Effects on Labor Market Outcomes

Jakob Beuschlein

No. 145/25 - December 2025

Hotter Days, Wider Gap: The Distributional Impact of Heat on Student Achievement

Mika Akesaka, Hitoshi Shigeoka

No. 144/25 - December 2025

All Eyes on the Nerd? The Unequal Distribution of Teachers’ Attention

Rigissa Megalokonomou, Sofoklis Goulas, Tommaso Sartori

No. 143/25 - December 2025

Capitalists, Workers and Landlords: A Comprehensive Analysis of Corporate Tax Incidence

David Gstrein, Florian Neumeier, Andreas Peichl, Pascal Zamorski

Publications

American Economic Journal, August 2025

Terrorism and Voting: The Rise of Right-Wing Populism in Germany

Navid Sabet, Marius Liebald, Guido Friebel

Social Forces, June 2025

Competing social influence in contested diffusion: contention and the spread of the early reformation

Sascha Becker, Yuan Hsiao, Steven Pfaff, Jared Rubin

Journal of Labor Economics, April 2025

Permanent Residency and Refugee Immigrants’ Skill Investment

Jacob Nielsen Arendt, Christian Dustmann & Hyejin Ku

Journal of Political Economy, March 2025

There’s More to Marriage Than Love: The Effect of Legal Status and Cultural Distance on Intermarriages and Separations

Jérôme Adda, Paolo Pinotti & Giulia Tura

Journal of Public Economics, February 2025

The big sell: Privatizing East Germany’s economy

Moritz Lubczyk, Moritz Hennicke, Lukas Mergele

Journal of Labor Economics, January 2025

Permanent Residency and Refugee Immigrants’ Skill Investment

Jacob Nielsen Arendt , Christian Dustmann , and Hyejin Ku