Marcel Fratzscher

Marcel Fratzscher serves as President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) and Professor of Macroeconomics at Humboldt University of Berlin. He holds membership on the Advisory Board of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and maintains a prominent public presence as a columnist for Zeit Online, Financial Times, and Project Syndicate.

His research spans macroeconomics, financial markets, economic inequality, European integration, monetary policy, and gender distribution. Fratzscher critically examines the social market economy, focusing on how economic policies affect inequality across demographic groups. His expertise includes pension systems, labor market dynamics, migration economics, and climate policy impacts on industry. His approach combines rigorous academic analysis with practical policy recommendations, often challenging conventional wisdom in economic discourse.

Fratzscher's recent publications reveal a consistent thematic focus on economic inequality and social justice. His articles analyze paradoxical trends like falling wage inequality alongside rising overall income inequality, discrimination in the workplace (including weight-based discrimination), and the economic costs of social issues like crime fear and gender-based violence. He consistently advocates for policy reforms in pension systems, minimum wage structures, migration policy, and housing markets.

As an advisor and public intellectual, Fratzscher bridges academic research and policy implementation. His recommendations often challenge conventional wisdom, such as his arguments against the notion that migration is economically costly or that minimum wage increases necessarily harm employment. He has proposed innovative solutions like the 'Boomer solidarity tax' to address old-age poverty without burdening younger generations.

Fratzscher leads DIW Berlin, one of Germany's premier economic research institutions, where he oversees research on critical economic and social issues facing Germany and Europe. The institute's Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) provides longitudinal data that informs much of his research on inequality and social dynamics. Under his leadership, DIW Berlin continues to shape economic policy debates through evidence-based analysis and forward-looking recommendations.