WZB - Berlin Social Science Center

Liberal democratic systems lead to a permanent increase in economic growth. In their study, Vanessa Boese-Schlosser and Markus Eberhardt show which democratic institutions make this effect possible.

How does internet access and its disruption influence electoral conduct under authoritarian governments? A study by Lisa Garbe, using  Uganda as an example.

A new study explores the gender gap in college aspirations and enrollment among high school students in Germany.

Nikolina Klatt and Vanessa Boese-Schlosser have examined the use of disinformation in authoritarian governance. 

A new comparative study explores the relationship between computer use and job satisfaction in Germany and the UK.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, civil society assistance reached precisely those people too little who lack a supportive social environment.

Liberal democratic systems lead to a permanent increase in economic growth. In their study, Vanessa Boese-Schlosser and Markus Eberhardt show which democratic institutions make this effect possible.

How does internet access and its disruption influence electoral conduct under authoritarian governments? A study by Lisa Garbe, using  Uganda as an example.

A new study explores the gender gap in college aspirations and enrollment among high school students in Germany.

Nikolina Klatt and Vanessa Boese-Schlosser have examined the use of disinformation in authoritarian governance. 

A new comparative study explores the relationship between computer use and job satisfaction in Germany and the UK.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, civil society assistance reached precisely those people too little who lack a supportive social environment.

The WZB

The WZB Berlin Social Science Center investigates fundamental societal issues. Our focus is on education and work, markets and choice, migration, democracy and autocracy, international politics and law. At the WZB researchers from various disciplines work together – mainly from sociology, political science, economics, law and psychology.

Working at the WZB

The WZB offers a modern working environment, where both equal opportunities and the compatibility of work and family are highly valued. Find out more about it here.

WZB-Mitteilungen

Prices

What does our safety cost? Good care? Mobility? Hardly anything comes for free; our society is based on exchange and performance. What everyone gets is usually regulated by prices. Prices determine who can afford what. And if certain goods - such as education - are not to be valued in monetary terms, other mechanisms of value assessment must be found.

The September issue of WZB-Mitteilungen is devoted to the value we assign to things, conditions and services. Not only economists can contribute to the topic of "prices", but all those who deal with questions of distribution in society.

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What’s the price of freedom?

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Läuferin auf dem Tempelhofer Feld joggt der Sonne entgegen
Joerg Brueggemann / OSTKREUZ

Starting from considerations of whether liberal freedom has a price, Michael Zürn turns in his essay to two much-discussed theoretical models of freedom: positive and negative freedom. What does the liberal understanding of freedom mean for liberal thinking in times of climate change? What are its implications for the political practice of liberal democratic societies?

Der Preis der Großzügigkeit

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Thumpnail of the interview

Einzelne Erfahrungen deuten darauf hin, dass wir eher bereit sind, jemandem eine helfende Hand zu reichen, als Geld zu schenken. Aber warum ist das so? Max Peukert hat mit der Ökonomin Hande Erkut gesprochen, die der unterschiedlich ausgeprägten Bereitschaft zu helfen auf den Grund gegangen ist.

A.SK Social Science Award goes to Daron Acemoglu

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Alternatives Porträt Daron Acemoglu
MeJudice1/Wikimedia

Economist Daron Acemoglu will receive the A.SK Social Science Award 2023. With this award, the WZB honours his research on conditions for prosperity and political stability of national economies. The award ceremony will take place on 14 November at the WZB.

(Un)Solvable Problems?

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Seil mit Knoten
pixabay

Always on Fridays and online: In a new event series, WZB researchers present their findings on the challenges of our time for discussion. Next Friday, September 29, Ruud Koopmanns will speak about the challenges of European refugee policy.

ESR-Prize for Irene Pañeda Fernández

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Foto Irene Paneda
David Ausserhofer

Congratulations to Irene Pañeda Fernández! The WZB-sociologist was awarded the "ESR Prize for the Best Article of the Year 2023" for her study on the impact of natural disasters on redistribution preferences.