INSTITUT FUER WELTWIRTSCHAFT

Their core work

The Kiel Institute for the World Economy is one of Germany's leading economic research centers, specializing in global economic analysis with a strong focus on macroeconomics, housing finance, and increasingly ocean economics and climate policy. Their H2020 work spans economic modeling of housing markets and wealth inequality, environmental economics of ocean-based carbon removal technologies, and migration flow prediction tools. They bring rigorous quantitative economics expertise to interdisciplinary consortia, translating complex environmental and social challenges into policy-relevant economic analysis.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

The Kiel Institute's H2020 trajectory shows a clear pivot from traditional macroeconomics toward climate and ocean economics. Their early projects (2017-2018) focused squarely on housing markets, credit booms, wealth inequality, and trade policy — classic economic research topics. From 2019 onward, they shifted heavily into ocean observing systems, blue economy valuation, negative emissions technologies, and migration modeling, signaling a strategic move toward applying economic methods to environmental and societal grand challenges.

The institute is repositioning its economic modeling capabilities toward climate mitigation and ocean governance — expect them to seek partnerships in green transition and environmental policy projects.

How they like to work

The Kiel Institute primarily joins consortia as a specialist partner (4 out of 5 projects), contributing economic analysis to larger interdisciplinary teams. Their one coordinator role is an ERC grant — a solo excellence award rather than a consortium leadership position. With 111 unique partners across 22 countries, they operate as a well-connected but non-dominant node, valued for adding economic rigor to science-driven projects rather than leading large-scale coordination efforts.

Extensive European network spanning 111 unique partners across 22 countries, reflecting their role as a go-to economics partner that diverse consortia invite for quantitative policy analysis. Their reach is broad rather than concentrated in any single geographic cluster.

What sets them apart

What sets the Kiel Institute apart is their ability to bridge hard economics with environmental science — few research centers can credibly model both housing market dynamics and ocean-based carbon removal costs. Their ERC grant demonstrates individual research excellence, while their consortium participation shows they can embed economic analysis into large interdisciplinary teams. For consortium builders, they offer a rare combination: a world-class economics institute that speaks the language of climate scientists and marine researchers.

Highlights from their portfolio

• OceanNETs
  Their largest project (EUR 733K) analyzing feasibility and economics of ocean-based negative emission technologies — a high-profile and rapidly growing research area.
• SafeHouse
  An ERC Consolidator Grant they coordinate, studying 145 years of housing finance history — demonstrates individual research excellence and original scholarship.
• ITFLOWS
  Applies economic prediction models to migration flows (EUR 355K), showing the institute's versatility in applying quantitative methods to security and social policy challenges.