University of Cologne

Center for Social and Economic Behavior  

The Center for Social and Economic Behavior (C-SEB) at the University of Cologne (UoC) brings together Cologne-based researchers from economics, management science, and psychology. Together with internationally renowned scientists from Europe and the USA, they investigate the fundamental principles and behavioral mechanisms that affect social and economic behavior. Since its establishment in 2019, the Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute is an important partner.

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Social and economic behavior is shaping almost all aspects of our lives. But it does not only influence the actions of individuals. Behavior and its underlying motivation and cognition, also affects the success of societies, politics, markets and organizations. Understanding its determinants, and how it can be ‘managed’, is thus of crucial importance for understanding and addressing major challenges to society and humanity.

C-SEB aims to develop an empirically based theory of the institutions that define economic incentives and of the conditions that influence information processing in social and economic contexts. Using a behavioral economics and social cognition approach, the center examines how these mechanisms can be designed and manipulated. C-SEB seeks to build a bridge between laboratory research and real-world contexts in order to contribute to solutions to contemporary challenges in the economy.

Our Aims

Scientific exchange

C-SEB runs various programs to create a productive research environment and to promote interdisciplinary collaboration among scientists. In order to foster communication across disciplines and research units, the center regularly organizes workshops and conferences with international guests.
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Research funding

C-SEB provides funding for outstanding individuals and excellent collaborative research projects in the field of behavioral economics and social cognition. There are six funding lines at the moment that are designed to serve different purposes and target groups.
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Equal opportunity & junior researcher promotion

C-SEB is strongly committed to promote equal opportunities in academia and to advance the careers of junior researchers. The center assists its members with career planning and with reconciling academic and family life.
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Press Releases

On September 26, 2024, Bettina Rockenbach was elected as the new president of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. She …

ECONtribute and C-SEB member Christopher Roth, Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne, …

The “ESA Prize for Exceptional Achievement” recognizes no more than one researcher per year who has overcome unusually difficult obstacles …

Axel Ockenfels has been a new member of the Specialist Group for Regulatory Issues (WAR) of the Bundesnetzagentur for Electricity, …

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In the media

The Economist, 12.10.2024 | Bartleby

“A couple of recent studies underline the risk that incentives will have unintended consequences. One, from Jakob Altifian and Dirk Sliwka of the University of Cologne and Timo Vogelsang of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, tested the effect of paying an attendance bonus on levels of absenteeism. They did so by randomly assigning apprentice workers at a German retailer to two groups which offered a financial reward or some extra holiday, respectively, for a perfect attendance record. Neither reward reduced absenteeism, and the monetary bonus had precisely the opposite effect: it actually increased rates of absenteeism by 50% on average.”

FAZ, 09.10.2024 | Veronika Grimm & Axel Ockenfels

“In den vergangenen Jahren wurde es versäumt, die Marktregeln so weiterzuentwickeln, dass sie dem zunehmend dezentralen Stromsystem gerecht werden. Stattdessen wird seit Jahren nahezu jeder Marktein- und -austritt energiepolitisch gesteuert und auch in die Strompreisbildung eingegriffen. Die Folge sind Fehlanreize, die immer neue Reparaturen und Eingriffe erforderlich machen. Notwendige Investitionen bleiben deshalb aus, was das Gelingen der Energiewende zunehmend gefährdet. Der Markt muss reformiert werden. Doch wie sollte das neue Strommarktdesign aussehen?”

FAZ, 24.09.2024 | Jens Többen

“”Weibliche Führungskräfte sind empathischer, verkörpern modernere Rollenbilder und tragen in ihren Abteilungen zu mehr Kommunikation bei”, sagt Sutter. […] “Weibliche Führungskräfte sorgen so für mehr Austausch in der Abteilung – davon profitiert das Unternehmen” […] obwohl weibliche Chefs mehr unterstützen und empathischer sind, herrscht dadurch nicht zwingend ein besseres Arbeitsklima. Die Zufriedenheit am Arbeitsplatz ist unter weiblichen Chefs geringer […] Trotz der Ambivalenz lohne es sich, auf mehr Chefinnen zu setzen, denn eine wirtschaftlich wichtige Kenngröße wird positiv beeinflusst: Weibliche Mitarbeiter bleiben länger im Betrieb, wenn sie von einer Frau geführt werden. […] “Wenn man Fluktuation reduzieren kann, ist das Gold wert”, sagt Sutter.”

ECONtribute Wirtschaftspodcast, 16.09.2024 | Host: Carolin Jackermeier

“Warum sind die Preise trotz niedriger Inflation noch immer so hoch? Was bedeutet die Zinssenkung der Europäische Zentralbank für die Wirtschaft? Und wie wirkt sich der Klimawandel langfristig auf die Inflation aus? Tom Zimmermann, Professor bei ECONtribute an der Universität zu Köln, forscht unter anderem zu Finanzmarktstabilität und Geldpolitik. Wir sprechen im Inflations-Update darüber, warum eine zwei Prozent hohe Inflation überhaupt als ideal betrachtet wird, welche langfristigen wirtschaftlichen Folgen Phasen hoher Inflation haben und wie aussagekräftig eigentlich der Preis für Olivenöl ist.”

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Events

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Publications

Haylock, M., Kampkötter, P., Macis, M., Sauter, J., Seitz, S., Slonim, R., Wiesen, D., & Schmidt, A. H. (2024).

“Reducing Registry Members’ Attrition When Invited to Donate: Evidence From a Large Stem Cell Registry.” American Journal of Health Economics, 730331. Advance online publication.

König, A. N., Laxy, M., Peters, A., Schneider, A., Wolf, K., Schwettmann, L., & Wiesen, D. (2024).

“What Is the Relationship Between Risk Attitudes and Ambient Temperature? Evidence from a Large Population-Based Cohort Study.” Economics & Human Biology, 55, 101436.

Corneille, O., & Gawronski, B. (2024).

“Self-Reports Are Better Measurement Instruments Than Implicit Measures.” Nature Reviews Psychology. Advance online publication.

Ivanov, I. T., & Zimmermann, T. (2024).

“The “Privatization” of Municipal Debt.” Journal of Public Economics, 237, 105156. Advance online publication.

Sting, F. J., Tarakci, M., & Recker, J. (2024).

“Performance Implications of Digital Disruption in Strategic Competition.” MIS Quarterly, 48(3), 1263–1278.

Bergemann, D., & Bonatti, A. (2024).

“Data, Competition, and Digital Platforms.” American Economic Review, 114(8), 2553–2595.

Fujita, K., Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2024).

“Understanding Self-Control as a Problem of Regulatory Scope.” Psychological Review. Advance online publication.

Gawronski, B., & Corneille, O. (2024).

“Unawareness of Attitudes, Their Environmental Causes, and Their Behavioral Effects.” Annual Review of Psychology. Advance online publication.

Pulm, C., Gast, A., & Rummel, J. (2024).

“A Picture Corrects a Thousand Words – The Effect of Photos on Veracity Feedback.” Consciousness and Cognition, 125, 103758. Advance online publication.

Glöckner, A., Jekel, M., & Lisovoj, D. (2024).

“Using Machine Learning to Evaluate and Enhance Models of Probabilistic Inference.” Advance online publication.
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