| Ifo Institute for Economic Research | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | Ifo |
| Formation | 1949 |
| Location | Munich, Germany |
| President | Hans-Werner Sinn |
| Website | www.ifo.de |
The Ifo Institute for Economic Research is a Munich-based research institution. Ifo is an acronym from Information and Forschung (research). As one of Germany's largest economic think-tanks, it analyses economic policy and is widely known for its monthly Ifo Business Climate Index for Germany. Its research output is significant: about a quarter of the articles published by German research institutes in international journals in economics in 2006 were from Ifo researchers.[1]
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The Ifo Institute is a registered society. Its statutes obligate it to be a non-profit organization that conducts empirical research in economics and the social sciences.
Two thirds of Ifo’s funding come from public subsidies (as an institution of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Scientific Community) and approximately one third from contract research and policy advice, generally commissioned by public agencies. Research for the private sector is relatively insignificant.
The Ifo Institute currently employs about 150 people, approximately half of whom are researchers. The current Ifo president is Hans-Werner Sinn.
The Ifo Institute was established in 1949. To analyze the merging of the two parts of Germany, a branch was opened in Dresden in 1993. Under President Hans-Werner Sinn, its official name was expanded to the “Ifo Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich” as an expression of the close cooperation between Ifo and the University of Munich (LMU) and especially with the Center for Economic Studies (CES) at LMU, headed by Hans-Werner Sinn.
The Ifo Institute participates in the twice yearly (spring and autumn) joint analysis of the state of the German and world economy, the so-called Gemeinschaftsdiagnose. [2] The other institutes are: Institut für Weltwirtschaft (IfW) in Kiel; Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (IWH) in Halle; and Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (RWI) in Essen.
After the last evaluation in June 2006 the Senate of the Leibniz Association favored the further funding of the Institute. The importance of the Institute was confirmed in its final report, and the progress made by the Institute was lauded; criticism of some of the service areas was expressed.[3] The evaluation commission, consisting of 14 international academics and 4 practitioners, summarized its assessment as follows: "The Institute's output has increased tremendously in terms of publications, organization of scientific events, and policy advice. Now, Ifo makes a very strong impression. The research activities are considered to be very good in most parts, in some cases excellent. Policy consulting is regarded as very good, too. There has been movement of the service areas.”[4]