THE BERLIN OFFICE OF RWI
RWI in Berlin: Science meets politics
Since 2007, the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research has been combining economic research with practical policy advice at its Berlin location. Our Berlin office strengthens the institute's presence in the German capital. We build bridges between research and politics.
Dual expertise: scientific networking and policy advice
The team in Berlin works closely with Berlin universities and communicates research findings directly to decision-makers. Politicians, media professionals and other stakeholders can find expert answers to economic questions here.
The team consists of researchers from all RWI areas of expertise as well as from the research groups Global Migration and Microstructure of Tax and Transfer Systems.
Active networking in the research landscape
Since 2023, the RWI Berlin Network Seminar has regularly invited leading scientists from Berlin and the surrounding area. Interested parties can participate after registering.
Furthermore, we coordinate important Berlin research networks and seminar series together with our partner institutions:
Knowledge transfer through events
Our Berlin office organises conferences, workshops and dialogue formats on current economic policy issues. We bring research, politics and society into conversation.
At RWI Impuls, you will find a confidential space for scientifically sound policy discussions. Here, research and decision-making come together directly. RWI Impuls is our exclusive round-table format in Berlin.
If you would like to learn more about our events or participate in our networking seminar, please contact us at Claudia.Schmiedchen@rwi-essen.de.
Upcoming events
Speaker: Florian Lichtin(ETH Zürich)
Location: Hybrid – Berlin Office and Teams Link
Time: 1:30 - 2:30 pm
Title: Could reducing misperceptions about distributional effects increase support for climate mitigation policies? Insights from an experiment on a flight ticket levy in Switzerland
Abstract: Distributive fairness perceptions are central to public acceptance of costly climate policies. Yet it remains unclear to what extent citizens’ perception of these distributive effects are accurate, given the mixed evidence on the popularity of progressive policy designs. We thus investigate whether providing correct information about distributive effects can increase fairness perceptions and subsequently policy support for a particularly costly climate policy – an air travel tax, by implementing a vignette experiment among a nationally representative sample of the Swiss resident population. The findings will provide insights into how correcting misperceptions about distributive effects may enhance public acceptance of climate policies that impose visible costs, contributing to the design of fairer and more politically viable climate mitigation instruments.
Speaker: Sevrin Waights (HU Berlin)
Location: Hybrid – Berlin Office and Teams Link
Time: 1:30 - 2:30 pm
Title: tba
Together with decision-makers from government ministries, implementing organizations, and the academic community, we will discuss the current state of research on the effectiveness of anticipatory humanitarian aid. We will focus on the future potential of such programs and the challenges involved in their implementation and evaluation.
Date: 07 July 2026
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
RWI Impulse is an exclusive roundtable format in which the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research invites selected actors from politics, civil society, and the media to discuss scientific evidence on current, socio-politically relevant topics with researchers in a confidential setting. The events follow the Chatham House Rules. The event is reserved for invited guests.
Speaker: Anna Schulze Tilling (Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow)
Location: Hybrid – Berlin Office and Teams Link
Time: 1:30 - 2:30 pm
Title: tba
Speaker: Johanna Arlinghaus (Hertie School)
Location: Hybrid – Berlin Office and Teams Link
Time: 1:30 - 2:30 pm
Title: tba
In the RWI Impulse “Affordable Housing in Times of Demographic Change and the Green Transition” we discuss with experts from politics, academia, and various interest groups the regionally varying challenges that demographic change and the decarbonization of the building sector pose for the availability of affordable housing.
Datum: 15 October 2026
RWI Impulse is an exclusive roundtable format in which the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research invites selected actors from politics, civil society, and the media to discuss scientific evidence on current, socio-politically relevant topics with researchers in a confidential setting. The events follow the Chatham House Rules. The event is reserved for invited guests.
