The Future of Fiscal Federalism in Germany and Europe
The project on "The Future of Fiscal Federalism in Germany and Europe" provides a unique opportunity to help address issues such as the optimal design of the financial structure within a federal state (e.g., intergovernmental transfers, fiscal equalization schemes) and its impact on policy experimentation, inter-governmental competition (vertically and horizontally) and government accountability.
The project is made up of a group of five doctoral students who are provided with a three-year stipend each, allowing them to achieve a PhD in Public Economics.
The successful candidates will be admitted to the Berlin Doctoral Program in Economics and Management Science (BDPEMS). Since 2003, this full-fledged course program provides world-class tuition based on an academic network which includes three university departments, a business school and two research institutions. The program, however, does not award a doctoral degree itself. The students receive a certificate about successful participation from the BDPEMS. The doctoral degree is awarded by the university of the student's supervisor according to the rules of that university. Please, find more details about the course work of the doctoral program at the program's homepage Berlin Doctoral Program in Economics and Management Science (BDPEMS).
Following this comprehensive and solid one-year program, the doctoral students of the projecty will be integrated in one of the four participating research centres and work with four leading scholars of federalism research:
- Prof. Dr. Kai A. Konrad at WZB Berlin/Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance
- Prof. Dr. Ronnie Schöb at Free University of Berlin
- Prof. Dr. Lars Feld at ZEW/Heidelberg University/Walter Eucken Institute
- Prof. Dr. Marcel Thum at Dresden University of Technology/ifo Dresden.
During the research phase in the second and third year, students devote their time primarily to their own research and the writing of research papers, which culminate in a dissertation. They participate in seminars according to the project on the "The Future of Fiscal Federalism in Germany and Europe". Moreover, extensive projected exchange visits between and beyond the cooperation partners provide the opportunity to develop a broad network and do research at an internationally competitive level.