📣 We're welcoming applications for our Visiting Researchers Program (summer semester 2026). If your work focuses on political economy or economic sociology, apply for a research stay (2-12 months). Open to researchers at all career levels!

Apply by October 31, 2025: career.mpifg.de/jobposting/1...

@difis.bsky.social 🎉

Eine ausführlichere Zusammenfassung gibt´s auf LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Unsere (@antonellafa.bsky.social) Studie zu „Zugangshürden zu Betreuung im Kita- und Grundschulalter trotz Rechtsanspruch“ ist soeben als @difis.bsky.social-Studie erschienen!

www.difis.org/publikatione...

In sum, local elections do matter for childcare expansion in Germany. At the same time, local fiscal constraints translate into lower childcare provision, and into reduced access to childcare – despite the existence of a federal legal entitlement n/n

Does all this still matter in the more recent time of skill shortages/Fachkräftemangel? It does: Childcare expansion comes at the cost of more children per staff – but only in fiscally disadvantaged districts. The consequences of skill shortages will be particularly pronounced in these districts 9/n

At the same time, higher fees for low-income families tend to be associated with lower coverage rates. Again, this association does not apply to middle- and high-income families 8/n

For 47 large municipalities, we show that fees for low-income families remain at higher levels in fiscally disadvantaged municipalities. Notably, we find no such associations for high-income families, although the revenue that could be generated would be much higher 7/n

How do local governments reconcile insufficient levels of childcare provision with the legal entitlement? We argue that by deciding on the level and structure of childcare fees, local governments, deliberately or not, shape the demand, and with this the accessibility of childcare 6/n

In particular in districts with high levels of liquidity debt (Kassenkredite), coverage rates remain at lower levels. In such contexts, left-wing government partisanship has been insufficient to close the gap with fiscally better endowed districts 5/n
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Focusing on childcare coverage rates in the more recent past (2019), we see that the effect of government partisanship is conditional on local fiscal conditions. Left-wing governments in the preceding years are associated with higher coverage only in districts with sound fiscal conditions 4/n

Controlling for a range of additional variables, we find that left-wing local governments (SPD, Greens) expanded childcare more than right-wing governments (CDU, CSU, FDP) between 2007 and 2019 in the West German districts 3/n

Years after a legal entitlement to childcare has been introduced, we still see substantial regional variation in childcare coverage rates. This variation does not simply reflect urban-rural divides or differences in female employment rates 2/n

Our (@bjoernbremer.bsky.social) paper on childcare expansion (<3y) in 🇩🇪 was just published @reggovjournal.bsky.social! We examine how the interplay between local government partisanship and fiscal conditions explains parts of the regional variation in childcare provision doi.org/10.1111/rego...
1/n

👏 Besonders spannend wäre dieses Schaubild noch danach, in welchen Städten und Bundesländern die Unterschiede zwischen armen und reichen Stadtteilen mehr oder weniger stark ausgeprägt sind.

We’re beyond thrilled to launch the 2nd Max Planck Summer School for Women in Political Economy

If you’re a fellow political economist annoyed by all-male rooms & gendered comments— join us & share!

🗓️ 22-25 Sept, 2025 in Cologne
🚨 Apply by 25 Apr, 2025

www.mpifg.de/1343511/2025...

Looking forward to presenting our work (@nilsblossey.bsky.social) on the political consequences of media ownership concentration in the Political Economy Research Group seminar series at CEU (@weareceu.bsky.social) this Thursday: events.ceu.edu/2025-03-06/p...

MAX CPE is back! Join our online workshop series in Comparative Political Economy.

First session: Feb 26, 1 pm, with Andreas Nölke and Michael Schedelik on "Peripheral Growth Models and the Global Economy."

Sign up: www.mpifg.de/max-cpe-work...

@palmapolyak.bsky.social @dustinvoss.bsky.social

The application deadline for doctoral positions in #PoliticalEconomy and #EconomicSociology is fast approaching. We look forward to receiving your application by February 28.

👉 career.mpifg.de/jobposting/9...

👉 career.mpifg.de/jobposting/1...

The MPIfG is seeking a research group leader (tenure track) with a focus on the socioeconomic and political impacts of technological change to set up a new research group at the intersection of #economy, #society, and #technology.

📢Please share widely!

s.gwdg.de/SULoAf

We conclude that voters´ perceptions of the seeming importance of wage competitiveness may contribute to the political stabilization of export-led growth models, despite the often sobering economic outcomes of stagnating economic growth and rising inequality. 2/2

Why don´t we see more political competition in economic policy? Re wages, we (w/ Lucio Baccaro) show that the more dependent countries are on exports, the more the wage preferences of center-left and center-right voters converge 1/2 @mpifg.bsky.social @jeppjournal.bsky.social doi.org/10.1080/1350...

Am 13.6. präsentiere ich unsere (@bjoernbremer.bsky.social) Ergebnisse zum Zusammenspiel kommunaler Partei- und Fiskalpolitik für den Kitaausbau in 🇩🇪. Ich freue mich auf die Diskussion mit Thomas Weckelmann vom MKJFGFI NRW. Anmeldung hier: difis.org/veranstaltun...