Conversations, Connections and New Ideas

Two weeks, countless conversations, and plenty of new ideas to take home.

I recently had the opportunity to spend two weeks as a research visitor at the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics in Kiel. It was an intense and inspiring time, with many stimulating exchanges at KLU Hamburg, CAU Kiel, ZEW, Universität Hamburg, HAW Kiel, ZBW and ifW.

I was also happy to act as a session’s chair person as well as present my research at the CORA Conference and the ZBW Research Colloquium. As always, the discussions afterwards were just as valuable as the presentations themselves – challenging assumptions, opening new perspectives and sparking ideas for future research.

A big thank you to Antje Reichert and Ralf Krestel for the excellent organisation, and to Isabella Peters and Marianne Saam for their support and guidance throughout the stay.

I am equally grateful to Carsten Schultz, Christina Raasch, Achim Walter, Sarah Oeste Reiß, Robert Gold, Thomas Niebel, Christian Rammer, Stephan Dörfel and Ann Cristin Cordes for the many open and inspiring conversations.

Now I am curious to see which of the ideas and initiatives we discussed will eventually bear fruit. Research visits are often less about immediate outcomes and more about creating connections that continue to develop long after the visit is over.

And Kiel itself? Definitely worth a trip. Beautiful weather certainly helped – as did discovering an unexpected historical connection to my home base, Munich. Both cities are linked to Heinrich the Lion, and 1972 created another connection: while Munich hosted the Summer Olympics, Kiel was the sailing venue.

I leave Kiel with new ideas, new connections and plenty of momentum.

Let’s see what grows from it.