Gustav Stolper Award 2021

On Tuesday, September 28, 2021, the Gustav Stolper Prize was awarded to Lars P. Feld (Freiburg University).

„The Stolper Award is given once every year, to an outstanding scientists who has employed economic research to influence the public debate on economic issues and problems, and has made ​​important contributions to understanding and solving contemporary economic problems“, said Georg Weizsäcker (VfS Chairman) in his statement.

Lars Feld, a long-standing member of the German Council of Economic Experts - and its chairman for one year - will be awarded the Gustav Stolper Prize at this year's online conference of the Verein für Socialpolitik.

With the Gustav Stolper Award, the Verein für Socialpolitik annually honors outstanding scientists and scholars who have influenced the public debate on economic interrelationships and problems with findings from economic research and who have made important contributions to the understanding and solution of economic problems in an international comparison.

The award is named after the economist, journalist and politician Gustav Stolper (1888 - 1947). Stolper became co-editor of the "Österreichischer Volkswirt" in 1913 and emigrated to the USA after Hitler's seizure of power, where he worked, among other things, as an economic policy advisor to the commission of inquiry headed by Herbert Hoover on the economic situation in Germany and Austria.

Lars Feld's education took place in Saarbrücken as well as in St. Gallen. After graduating from the University of Saarland, he moved to Switzerland, where he completed his doctorate and habilitation. After professorships in Marburg and Heidelberg, he has held the chair of economic policy and regulatory economics in Freiburg since 2010 and has since also headed the Walter Eucken Institute as its director.

In his research, Feld also focuses on economic policy, with a particular focus on government finance, as well as on the disciplines of political economy and the economic analysis of law. He deals comprehensively and extensively with the role of the state in economic life and is one of the leading and most sought-after experts in this field.

Lars Feld gained particular prominence through his extensive policy advice. As a long-standing member, he helped shape the work of many influential bodies, including the German Council of Economic Experts (Sachverständigenrat zur Begutachtung der Gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung) and the Scientific Advisory Council of the German Federal Ministry of Finance. In debates on public finances, he has always been an important advisor to the public and politicians. His advocacy of the debt ceiling for public budgets is particularly well received. In his pronouncements on current policy issues, a strikingly strong connection to Lars Feld's own research is evident. His long list of publications includes well-received contributions on tax honesty and on the correlates of government deficits and economic growth. A particular focus of his research is on the democratic legitimacy of taxation. In particular, Lars Feld identified many empirical relationships between government debt and political economy variables.

Also in the context of his roles as institute director, lecturer and colleague, one finds in Lars Feld's work many excellent examples of the successful combination of research and policy advice.  He eloquently shares his political economy thinking and knowledge with students, colleagues, policymakers, and the public.

For more information on the Gustav Stolper Award, click here.