GRK 1707:  Heterogeneity, Risk and Dynamics in Economic Systems

• Subject Area: Economics
• Term: from 2011 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 174824510

The research programme of this Research Training Group aims at overcoming the limits of the representative-agent paradigm, which today commonly forms the basis of theoretical and empirical models in economics. To this end, models will be developed and empirically tested, which explicitly take into account the heterogeneity of economic agents and which can represent economic institutions, which are the result of such heterogeneity or which are created in order to address its economic consequences. These models will be useful to study the consequences of heterogeneity for the dynamic behaviour of economic systems and their risk-absorbing capacity. The research programme combines methodological projects addressing the econometric, statistical and microeconomic foundations with more applied projects in macroeconomics, labour economics and finance.
The training programme is designed to take students with a Bachelor's degree directly to the doctoral degree. It aims at completing the doctoral degree within four and a half years and begins with a one-semester qualification stage with courses in all fields represented in the programme followed by a two-semester advanced stage with specialised, research oriented courses.
The Research Training Group comprises three years. The programme offers high-level doctoral training according to the best international standards. To facilitate the recruitment of foreign students, all courses are taught in English. Summer schools and a visiting scholar programme complement the training programme. A key feature of the programme is the joint workshop in which all participating students regularly present and discuss their research.
The Research Training Group will be embedded into and benefit from the organisational infrastructure of the Bonn Graduate School of Economics (BGSE). With its focus on macroeconomics, finance and econometrics and statistics, it will support the development strategy of the Economics Department of the University of Bonn, which aims at strengthening its research capacity and international visibility in these areas.

• DFG Programme: Research Training Groups
• Applicant Institution: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Jürgen von Hagen
• Participating Researchers: Professor Dr. Christian Bayer; Professor Dr. Jörg Breitung; Professor Dr. Zeno Enders; Professor Dr. Armin Falk; Professorin Monika Gehrig-Merz, Ph.D.; Professor Martin Hellwig, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Alois Kneip; Professor Dr. Benny Moldovanu; Professor Dr. Klaus Sandmann; Professor Dr. Tymon Tatur