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Our Publications

All Policy Paper Studies Discussion Paper Spotlight

Our discussion papers set the tone for social debates.

They address current issues, shape positions, and inspire new ways of thinking. 

They build on existing research, yet deliberately put forward pointed ideas to enrich public debate. 

Current Publications

  • Discussion Paper

Pension provision in Germany faces key challenges such as poverty in old age, unequal life expectancy and a changing concept of lifetime achievement beyond gainful employment. Policy Fellow Dr Elmar Stracke proposes a two-pillar reform: a standardised, poverty-preventing federal pension secures the minimum subsistence level, while supplementary private and occupational pension schemes reward performance.

Read now
  • Discussion Paper

Trust in politics and political participation are unevenly distributed in Germany: our analysis of the ALLBUS population survey shows that unemployed people and those who have experienced unemployment are more distrustful of political institutions and politicians and less interested in voting.

Read now
  • Discussion Paper

Pension provision in Germany faces key challenges such as poverty in old age, unequal life expectancy and a changing concept of lifetime achievement beyond gainful employment. Policy Fellow Dr Elmar Stracke proposes a two-pillar reform: a standardised, poverty-preventing federal pension secures the minimum subsistence level, while supplementary private and occupational pension schemes reward performance.

Read now
  • Discussion Paper

Trust in politics and political participation are unevenly distributed in Germany: our analysis of the ALLBUS population survey shows that unemployed people and those who have experienced unemployment are more distrustful of political institutions and politicians and less interested in voting.

Read now

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  • Discussion Paper
  • 1 Author

TIME: 12 perspectives on a neglected resource

Time is perhaps the scarcest resource of the 21st century and, at the same time, the least considered in political discourse. The texts collected here demonstrate this from different perspectives.

  • Discussion Paper
  • 1 Author

A Standardised Federal Pension

Pension provision in Germany faces key challenges such as poverty in old age, unequal life expectancy and a changing concept of lifetime achievement beyond gainful employment. Policy Fellow Dr Elmar Stracke proposes a two-pillar reform: a standardised, poverty-preventing federal pension secures the minimum subsistence level, while supplementary private and occupational pension schemes reward performance.

  • Discussion Paper
  • 2 Authors

Low Trust in Politics, Lack of Participation

Trust in politics and political participation are unevenly distributed in Germany: our analysis of the ALLBUS population survey shows that unemployed people and those who have experienced unemployment are more distrustful of political institutions and politicians and less interested in voting.

  • Discussion Paper
  • 1 Author

Socio-Economic Imbalance at the Bavarian Ballot Boxes

Using clear maps and graphics, our impulse illustrates and explains the democratic imbalance at the Bavarian ballot boxes in the 2018 state elections and the 2021 federal elections.

  • Discussion Paper
  • 1 Author

Explanations for Democratic Imbalance

Analysis of the 2022 state elections and a nationwide survey. Using clear maps and graphics, our impulse illustrates and explains the democratic imbalance in Germany, which was also evident in the most recent state elections.

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