DIW DC

DIW DC (2006-2012) was established and operated from Washington, D.C. as an independent nonprofit, nonpartisan, tax-exempt scientific and educational research institute.

Executive Director: Amelie Constant
President and Chairman of the Board: Klaus F. Zimmermann
See for a complete documentation also: LINK

As so operated, its fundamental purposes were to engage in educational and research activities and to serve as a catalyst between academic scholarship and policymaking in the field of economics. A particular goal of the Institute was to provide the opportunity to similarly-focused German scientific and educational research institutions and NGOs to forge close links with research institutions and other economic and policy-oriented think tanks in the United States. Another important objective was to facilitate and promote the exchange and training of scientists and graduate students across the countries.

In 2012, DIW DC was pleased to report that it had achieved its goals and purposes in their entirety. Thus, the Institute had been instrumental in developing and fostering relationships with and among important US institutions and universities, and in facilitating memoranda of agreements between and among such organizations, so as to solidify opportunities for ongoing individual relationships at such institutions. By operating its unique academic, visitor and networking program, DIW DC had been able to set new standards for excellence in Washington, particularly as to its activities in relation to the doctoral program of DIW Berlin, a similarly-named, but independent, organization in Germany that from the formation of DIW DC shared its philosophical approach and engaged with DIW DC through 2011. At that point, due to its new scientific management, DIW Berlin terminated its internationalization strategy, and withdrew from any DIW DC related activities in Washington.

From the left: Lazear, Scharioth, Constant, Zimmermann.

Edward Lazear served as chairman of the US Council of Economic Advisers from 2006 to 2009. He was the chief economist of George W. Bush, and Zimmermann met him a few times in the White House. The last time on Friday afternoon before Lehman Brothers collapsed on September 15, 2008. We were discussing economic policy measures to stabilize the US economy. When I arrived at Frankfurt Airport the following Monday, it was all over in the news. Lazear has been called the founder of personnel economics. He was also an IZA Fellow and an IZA Prize winner. I had the honor to publish his IZA Prize book (Edward P. Lazear, Inside the Firm: Contributions to Personnel Economics. Edited by K.F. Zimmermann and S. Altmann. Oxford University Press. Oxford 2011. Paperback 2016).
Klaus Scharioth, the Ambassador of Germany to the United States
Amelie Constant, Director of DIW DC
Klaus F. Zimmermann, President of DIW Berlin and Director of IZA

DIW DC (2006-2012) war eine unabhängige, gemeinnützige wissenschaftliche Einrichtung amerikanischen Rechts. Ihre Aufgabe war, deutschen wissenschaftlichen Institutionen eine enge Vernetzung mit Forschungseinrichtungen und wirtschaftspolitisch orientierten Institutionen im Washington DC zu ermöglichen und den Austausch und die Weiterbildung von Wissenschaftlern und Doktoranden zu fördern. Sie hatte darüber hinaus einen eigenständigen Forschungsauftrag.

DIW DC arbeitete eng mit DIW Berlin und IZA in Bonn zusammen, war aber rechtlich völlig unabhängig. Etablierte Wissenschaftler und Nachwuchswissenschaftler beider Institutionen trafen sich in Washington DC regelmäßig zu Konferezen, Workshops und Fortbildungsveranstaltungen. Ein erfolgreiches Beispiel war das DIW Berlin Graduiertenprogramm, das betreut durch DIW DC regelmäßig Programmteilnehmer zu Fachvorlesungen und Praktikantenaufenthalten in wissenschaftlichen Beratungsinstitutionen der Szene in Washington zusammenführte. DIW DC unterstützte so auch das erfolgreiche Reformprogramm am DIW Berlin im ersten Jahrzehnt des 21. Jahrhunderts, das die akademische Basis der evidenzbasierten Politikberatung stärkte.

DIW DC (2006-2012) was an independent, non-profit scientific institution under American law. Its mission was to enable close networking between German scientific institutions and research centers as well as economic policy-oriented institutions in Washington DC, and to promote the exchange and further training of researchers and doctoral candidates. In addition, it had its own independent research mandate.

DIW DC worked closely with DIW Berlin and IZA in Bonn but was legally completely independent. Established researchers and early-career scientists from both institutions met regularly in Washington DC for conferences, workshops, and training events. A successful example was the DIW graduate program, which, coordinated by DIW DC, regularly brought program participants together for specialized lectures and internships at leading research advisory institutions and thinktanks in Washington. DIW DC therefore supported the successful reform program at DIW Berlin in the first decade of the twenty-first century, which strengthened the academic basis of evidence-based policymaking.