Economics
We study issues relevant to economic policy using modern quantitative methods and theory. We work on a range of crosscutting topics, such as inequality, fairness views, decision-making of individuals or policymakers, and (nearly) all aspects of economic development.
We approach these topics from complementary perspectives. On the one hand, we use insights from behavioral economics to better understand individual decision-making and how people perceive inequality and fairness in society. This provides a deeper perspective on how the state and (political) institutions interact with their citizens. On the other hand, we seek to understand the political economy development from a regional and macro perspective, asking questions such as: Why is economic activity more concentrated in some places than others? Or: What political factors shape regional development?
What unites us is that our research concerns the causes and consequences of poverty and how to tackle the global imbalances in incomes, both from the perspective of people in rich countries and people in less developed countries.Law
The Chair of Public Law (Prof. Dr. Daniela Winkler) is dedicated to the law of shaping the future in democratic systems: The research focus of the chair is in the area of environmental and energy law as well as planning law (spatial and specialized planning). Particular attention is paid here to questions of sustainable and fair use of resources. In this context, a further focus is derived from participation law, which includes issues relating to the democratic integration of the above-mentioned design tasks.
The Chair represents the teaching of public law at the University of Stuttgart in its entire breadth. It is in charge of the Master's degree course "Planung und Partizipation", which, in cooperation with six institutes from three faculties of the University of Stuttgart, enables the networking of different specialist knowledge from the planning, social, natural and engineering sciences as well as law.