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11 - Quality control for the leading institutes of economic research in Germany: promoting quality within and competition between the institutes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 October 2011

By
Gert G. Wagner
Edited by
Justus Lentsch  and
Peter Weingart
Gert G. Wagner
Affiliation:
Berlin University of Technology
Justus Lentsch
Affiliation:
Heinrich Böll Foundation
Peter Weingart
Affiliation:
Universität Bielefeld, Germany
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Summary

Introduction

This paper deals with a special branch of the publicly financed system of research-based policy advice in Germany: the leading institutes for economic research. These institutes have the task of providing non-partisan advice to the public, the government, political parties, and NGOs of all kinds.

Following a short introductory discussion of concepts and problems of research-based policy advice and of some of the specific problems of economic and social policy advice that arise in this context, this chapter describes the idea and the system of quality control in the aforementioned institutes for economic research, whose shared aim is to provide non-partisan, independent advice. The system of quality control is (1) established within the individual institutes for economic research and (2) enhanced by competition between the institutes.

A major conclusion of this chapter deals with the common interest of governments, political parties and NGOs in obtaining partisan, and often confidential, advice – in other words, advice which is based on certain value judgements and political goals. The system of publicly funded non-partisan research institutes is not able to provide this kind of internal advice. One possible solution – that of founding private research institutes capable of providing such research- and value-based advice – is discussed in the outlook section below.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Politics of Scientific Advice
Institutional Design for Quality Assurance
 , pp. 215 - 228
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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