News

New Policy Paper out now: Seven researchers of the Cluster of Excellence "Politics of Inequality" of the University of Konstanz investigate perceptions and opinions on structural inequalities in the coronavirus crisis - based on representative surveys. (Policy Paper only in German)

On national TV, economist Prof. Dr. Friedrich Breyer explains the challenges faced by public pension funds in the years and decades to come - including the heated debate on whether the legal retirement age should be raised to 68 years („Grenzen der gesetzlichen Rente“, ARD Alpha, 20 July 2021).

Senior Fellow Prof. Dr. Nils-Christian Bormann publishes an article on the blog "Political Violence at a Glance" and supplies answers to three pressing questions concerning the civil war in Ethiopia: What type of conflict is happening in Tigray? What are the chances for conflict resolution? And what is the danger that the conflict will spread beyond Ethiopia?

Forschende am Exzellenzcluster "The Politics of Inequality"stellen fest, dass die Homeoffice-Euphorie im zweiten Coronajahr ungebrochen ist und viele Beschäftigte sich eine aktivere Steuerung durch die Politik wünschen.

The book "The Internet and Political Protest in Autocracies" by Nils Weidmann (University of Konstanz) and Espen Geelmuyden Rød (University of Uppsala) was awarded the NEPS Medal 2021.

Podcast with Felix Wolter and Claudia Diehl: Self-interest or political conviction? Explaining stances towards corona containment measures.

The survey of the Cluster's Inequality Barometer reveals great degrees of misperception of the amount and distribution of income and wealth inequality: Many of the rich, as well as many members of the lower income groups, falsely assume they belong to the middle class. Nevertheless, respondents would prefer a more egalitarian society, and have a pessimistic outlook on opportunities for social mobility.

Behavioural economist Dr. Katrin Schmelz of the University of Konstanz and her Santa Fe Institute colleague Prof. Dr. Samuel Bowles show that enforcing SARS-CoV-2 vaccination should be avoided: mandates would undermine intrinsic motivation to vaccinate in many people, and bear high social and political costs.

In their new “Inequality Barometer”, Konstanz researchers demonstrate: The German population often assesses the level of inequality incorrectly, underestimating wealth inequality in particular. This also has political consequences.