Research projects

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Together with researchers from the Poznan University of Economics & Business, we analyze the activities of Polish and German communities on social media.

The focus is on three questions:

  1. What experiences have municipalities active on social media had with using them? Why do other municipalities not use these channels?
  2. Under what conditions do political discourses take place on municipal social media channels? How can inter-municipal differences in discourse be explained?
  3. What effects do the presence and activities of municipalities on social media have on budget decisions and voter turnout?

The project is supported by the German-Polish Science Foundation (duration 10/2022-10/2025).

The Public Economics Unit prepared a report for the state government of Rhineland-Palatinate (2020) on the following question: To what extent can interlocal cooperation be an alternative to a far-reaching regional and administrative reform at county level. The report places a special emphasis on the digital transformation of the public sector. The report argues that digital technologies open up new fields for interlocal cooperation and increase its potential massively. 

 

 

Together with colleagues from the "Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (IWH)" in Halle, the Public Economics Unit analyzed the question: To what extent does interlocal cooperation contribute to ensuring a sustainable development of local governments and ensuring public service provision in peripheral regions in Germany.  The project was funded by the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung (2014-2017).

German states and audit authorities often propose intensified cooperation among local governments in public service production. A sufficient level of public acceptance is a precondition for intensified interlocal cooperation. Researchers from the Public Economics unit analyzed public acceptance for interlocal cooperation in a report for the Hessian government (in German, 2013-2014) . A second report dealt with the acceptance of a regional reform in the region of Kassel (in German, 2013-2014).