Giacomo Corneo

Giacomo Corneo serves as Professor of Public Economics at the Free University of Berlin's School of Business & Economics, Department of Economics. His research focuses on public economics, income inequality, alternative economic systems, and fiscal policy. He maintains an active research profile with recent publications in top journals and serves as managing editor of the Journal of Economics.

Corneo's research interests span public economics, income inequality and redistribution, social norms and economic behavior with applications to growth and the welfare state, public expenditure and finance, and alternative economic systems. His notable book Is Capitalism Obsolete? A Journey Through Alternative Economic Systems (2017) explores economic alternatives to capitalism, with editions published in German, Japanese, French, and Italian. His research examines the intersection of economic systems with social values, wealth distribution, and political economy.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals a consistent focus on income and wealth inequality, with increasing attention to peace economics and institutional alternatives to current economic arrangements. His work combines theoretical rigor with empirical analysis of German and European data, often addressing policy-relevant questions about taxation, social security, and economic justice. The thematic progression shows movement from traditional public economics topics toward broader systemic questions about economic organization.

• ZEW Science Prize for the year 2020/2021 (awarded with Dr. Guido Neidhöfer)

Professor Corneo leads a research group including graduate assistants (Cara Nadler, Dr. Pranvera Shehaj, Koray Kasirka), student assistants (Erik Dziondziak, Jonathan Mehlhorn), and corresponding members (Holger Lüthen, Astrid Harnack, Dr. Charlotte Bartels, Dr. Frank Neher, Dr. Justine Röhmel, Guido Neidhöfer). He supervises the Research Seminar in Economics, which serves as a platform for invited speakers across all fields of economics. His Alexander von Humboldt Fellows include Dr. Tamás Keller and Prof. Yasuhiro Nakamoto. Corneo's teaching portfolio includes graduate and undergraduate courses on Theories of War and Peace, State and Allocation Economic Systems, Fiscal and Economic Policy, and Design of Economic Systems.