The Verein für Socialpolitik awards members who have rendered outstanding merits to the association with a medal of honour. The medal of honour is named after one of the founding fathers and long-standing chairman of the Verein für Socialpolitik: Gustav Schmoller Medal.

The Verein für Socialpolitik is currently discussing a section in Gustav Schmoller's book "Grundriß der Allgemein Volkswirtschaftslehre", which is entitled "Die Rassen und Völker". Two historical expert opinions were obtained for this purpose.

Following the expert opinions, the Executive Board decided to pause the awarding of the Gustav Schmoller Medal in the period June 2021 to May 2026, to announce a grant for a research paper (see below), and to discuss the topic of the relevant section of Schmoller's book at the upcoming annual meetings.