The University of Bayreuth is involved in CRC TR 224 with a project led by Prof. Dr. Katja Maria Kaufmann, Chair of Empirical Macroeconomics and Family Economics. In addition to Bayreuth, the network includes the universities of Bonn, Cologne and Mannheim.
CRC TR 224 addresses three central societal challenges: promoting equal opportunities, regulating markets effectively, and ensuring financial stability. One distinctive feature of this Collaborative Research Centre is its integrated perspective: the three areas are not examined in isolation but analysed in their interaction in order to develop well-founded recommendations for policymakers and society.
Economic expertise for societal debates
The aim of the project is to contribute scientifically grounded economic research to the public debate on key socio‑political issues. Among other topics, the research centre examines how public and private institutions influence the development of individual skills, how digital and interconnected markets should be regulated, and how financial stability can be safeguarded in an increasingly complex economy.
Prof. Dr. Katja Maria Kaufmann has been part of the network since the beginning of the first funding period, and the University of Bayreuth has been involved since the second funding period of CRC TR 224. The network is now entering its third funding period, which runs from January 2026 to December 2029 and is supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) with 12 million euros.
“The renewed funding underscores the relevance of our research for the major societal questions of our time. Equal opportunities, fair markets and stable financial systems are fundamental pillars of a functioning society – and they are closely interconnected. Our goal is to deliver evidence‑based insights that support policymakers and the public in these debates,” says Prof. Dr. Katja Maria Kaufmann.
The research of CRC TR 224 encompasses three interlinked areas. The first pillar examines how policy measures and institutional structures influence the development of skills and preferences, and how they can help reduce disadvantages arising from gender, origin or social background. The second pillar focuses on the regulation of digital and interconnected markets and analyses policy instruments to address market failures such as market power, information asymmetries or external effects. The third pillar deals with the stability of the financial system and explores how individual financial decisions, market processes and economic policy measures interact – and what consequences this has for macroeconomic stability, wealth distribution and equal opportunities.
