Axel Ockenfels

Research focuses

Market Design, Behavioral Economics, Auctions and Negotiations, Choice and Incentive Architecture, Markets in Crisis, Sectors: Climate, Energy, Health, Transport, Finance, Tech; Key Research Initiatives: Sustainable Smart Energy & Mobility and Behavioural Management Science

Curriculum vitae

Axel Ockenfels is the Founding Director of the Adenauer School of Government and Professor of Economics at the University of Cologne, as well as Director at the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics in Bonn. As Principal Investigator, he is active in both the Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute and the Center for Social and Economic Behavior (C-SEB), of which he is co-founder and former speaker. Previously, he was the Founding Director of the Cologne Laboratory of Economic Research (CLER) and headed the Institute of Energy Economics at the University of Cologne (EWI).

Please refer to the website of Prof. Ockenfels for the full CV.

Current permanent positions

• 2025 – Founding Director of the Adenauer School of Government at the University of Cologne
• 2023 – Director at the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics in Bonn
• 2003 – Full Professor (C4/W3) of Economics at the University of Cologne

Education

• 1995 – 1998 Doctoral Studies, University of Magdeburg, Ph.D. in Economics
• 1989 – 1994 Studies in Economics at the University of Bonn (Diploma)
                      TA and RA for microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics

Memberships in Academies of Science

• 2021 – German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
• 2017 – National Academy of Science and Engineering – acatech
• 2016 – European Academy of Sciences
• 2006 – Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities
• 2005 – North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts

Publications

Please refer to the website of Prof. Ockenfels for the full list of publications.

Media publications

Please refer to the website of Prof. Ockenfels for the full list of press articles.