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.
Agenda
RFBerlin’s research agenda is organised into 3 main themes.
Discussion papers
No. 290/26 - October 2026
Early Decisions, Long-Lasting Consequences: The Macroeconomics of School Tracking
Lukas Mahler, Suzanne Bellue
No. 289/26 - October 2026
Evaluating Maternity Leave Reforms When RD Fails
Clara von Bismarck-Osten, Andrei Zeleneev
No. 288/26 - October 2026
Workplace Peer Effects in Fertility Decisions
Maria De Paola, Roberto Nisticò, Vincenzo Scoppa
No. 287/26 - October 2026
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
