Institute for the Study of Labor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Institute for the Study of Labor is a private, independent economic research institute. It was founded under the legal form of a limited liability company. Its German name is Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit hence the abbreviation IZA. IZA is situated in Bonn, Germany.

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[edit] Conception

IZA's main focus is the economic analysis of national and international labor markets within a broad range of research areas. Furthermore IZA provides policy advice on crucial labor market issues for national and international policy institutions. The institute’s networks of almost 600 international Research Fellows and influential Policy Fellows from business, politics, society and the media add to the dynamic of IZA.

IZA draws substantial financial support from the research-sponsoring activities of the Deutsche Post-Foundation.

[edit] Organization

President is Dr. Klaus Zumwinkel, CEO Deutsche Post World Net.

Director is Prof. Dr. Klaus F. Zimmermann, who is also President of the German Insitute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), and professor for economics at the University of Bonn as well as the Free University of Berlin.

Director of Research is Prof. Dr. Armin Falk. As Professor for economics at the University of Bonn he also heads the Bonn Laboratory for Experimental Economics, which was founded by nobel prize winner Reinhard Selten in 1984.

Director of Labor Policy is Dr. Hilmar Schneider.

Director of Policy Fellows is Florian Gerster, former State Minister, who was Chairman of the Board of the German Federal Labor Agency before.

[edit] Research

IZA's manifold research activities currently concentrate on seven research units providing high-standard labor market research in a wide array of topics:

  • Evaluation of Labor Market Programs
  • Behavioral and Personnel Economics
  • Migration
  • Labor Markets and Institutions
  • Labor Markets in Emerging and Transition Economies
  • The Future of Labor
  • Employment and Development

Within these research areas IZA offers a broad range of scientific events and publications, most of them downloadable on the IZA webpage. The highly influential IZA Discussion Paper Series is among the largest paper series in economics. IZA events comprise intensive workshops and research seminars on relevant labor market topics as well as large international conferences setting the agenda for future labor market research.

[edit] IZA Prize in Labor Economics

Since 2002 IZA awards the IZA Prize in Labor Economics which has become one of the most important prizes in economics worldwide. The past IZA Prize Laureates include:


In 2006, IZA has additionally established the "IZA Young Labor Economist Award" to honor an outstanding published paper in labor economics written by researchers under 40 years of age at the time of publication. The prize money of 5,000 Euros is shared between the authors. The first award went to Enrico Moretti, University of California, Berkeley.

[edit] External links