Project Details
Projekt
Zentralprojekt
Applicant
Professor Dr. Axel Ockenfels
Subject Area
Economic Theory
Term
from 2011 to 2015
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 152381728
Economic engineering is the science of designing real-world institutions and mechanisms that align individual incentives and behavior with the underlying goals. Economic mechanisms influence most areas of life. For instance, spectrum and security auctions, energy markets, emission trading rules, procurement and supply chain contracts, worker compensation schemes, matching and online markets all need to be actively designed; and the design then directly affects the price for mobile phone services, for electricity and for consumer goods, the taxpayers' cost of the financial crisis, the motivation and satisfaction at work, the probability of receiving an organ when needed, the degree of (dis-) trust ih markets, and the success of climate politics. Mechanisms matter because they affect incentives, and decision makers respond to incentives. They do not always do so in a rational or selfish way. though; yet behavior often responds in a systematic way. This is the starting point of the proposed research group, which aims at designing mechanisms in firms and markets based on sound behavioral research.
DFG Programme
Research Units
