“Based on the proposals of the selection committee, the IHS Board of Trustees has decided to start negotiations with the prominent economist Lars Feld about the scientific management of the Institute for Advanced Studies,” announced the IHS. “The aim is to finalize the negotiations quickly so that we can welcome Lars Feld to the institute in autumn,” explains IHS President Franz Fischer. He currently heads the institute together with IHS Secretary General Eva Liebmann-Pesendorfer.
The candidate hearing took place at the end of May. From the then five-man pool, three people were shortlisted and submitted to the IHS Board of Trustees by the appointment committee. In addition to Feld, Guntram Wolff, head of the Breugel Institute in Brussels, and Frank Kalter, a sociologist at the University of Mannheim, were on the shortlist, according to an Ö1 radio report on Wednesday. The IHS did not make names public. The internationally renowned economist and Vorarlberg resident Ernst Fehr is said to have been a preferred candidate in business circles, but did not apply. The same applies to Eco-Austria boss Monika Köppl-Turyna.
Feld’s résumé
Feld will be 55 years old in August. He was born in Saarbrücken in the German state of Saarland. He is Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Freiburg (Baden-Württemberg) and was a member of the “Council of Economic Wise Men” (Expert Council for the Assessment of Overall Economic Development) in Germany from 2011 to this year, which he chaired from March 2020 to February 2021. The committee advises the German federal government on economic issues.
The German is considered to be a representative of ordoliberalism. This is a market-based economic order in which the state provides a competitive framework at the same time as freedom in the market. Feld is also seen as an opponent of high government debt and expansionary fiscal policy and is an advocate of government debt brakes: “Consolidation cannot stop at social spending either.”
Feld heads the CDU Economic Council. This is a professional association that represents the interests of its members from the economy, but not a CDU special organization. The council uses the addition CDU with the tolerance of the German chancellor party Christian Democratic Union.
“With Lars Feld, one of the most renowned economists in Europe will in future be at the head of the IHS”, responded Finance Minister Gernot Blümel (ÖVP) and saw a confirmation of the good international reputation of the domestic economic research institute IHS and the economic research institute (Wifo). “The IHS has already been an important source of inspiration and advice for the Ministry of Finance and I am personally looking forward to the future exchange.” In his previous functions, he advocated stable and sustainable fiscal policy and a social market economy.
After the new IHS boss has also become official, the most important domestic economic forecasts from IHS and Wifo will be presented by new economists. Because in October Gabriel Felbermayr will succeed Christoph Badelt at Wifo. Both economic researchers have repeatedly found themselves in the top 10 economist rankings of renowned newspapers.
The IHS also announced on Wednesday four interdisciplinary research initiatives for the next four years (micro-macro links; analysis of educational and employment careers; health and economics; decisions in the social and economic sciences). “Science must be able to prepare solutions for future societal questions. With the research initiatives, the IHS bundles the expertise in the research groups, strengthens the interdisciplinary cooperation at the institute and creates the capacity to answer relevant questions in the public interest,” said Secretary General Liebmann-Pesendorfer. Interdisciplinary research is being strengthened with a budget of one million euros – each year 240,000 euros for the new initiatives.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
