ifo Center for Labor and Demographic Economics

Family decision-making on work: the role of policy and norms

This research strand focuses on how families make decisions about employment, working hours, and career paths. It analyzes how these choices are influenced by public policy – such as parental leave, childcare availability, and tax incentives – as well as by prevailing social norms related to gender roles. The work contributes to a better understanding of how policy can promote both economic efficiency and gender equity in the labor market.

Demographic choices: Household Formation and Fertility

This line of inquiry focuses on the economic and policy determinants of major life-course decisions such as marriage, childbearing, and separation. It investigates how financial incentives, labor market conditions, and institutional frameworks influence individuals’ decisions to marry or have children, as well as the stability of these relationships over time.  

Family Instability and the Consequences of Divorce

Here, the Center analyzes the effects of divorce on children’s educational achievement and on parents’ labor market outcomes and mental health. A central goal is to understand the mechanisms through which family instability affects children and parents, and whether policy can mitigate negative effects. This includes evaluating custody arrangements or child support enforcement. The research provides evidence on how policy can reduce inequality in the context of family breakdown.

Domestic violence: determinants and its prevention

This research strand examines the economic factors that contribute to domestic violence and evaluates strategies for its prevention. It focuses on how financial stress, economic dependence, and related incentives shape the risk of violence, and assesses the effectiveness of policy interventions – such as arrest laws, restraining orders, and support services – in reducing domestic abuse and protecting victims.  

Migration and the integration of immigrants into host societies

The Center examines the determinants of migration decisions as well as the role of institutional frameworks in destination countries—such as access to childcare and education, job training programs, or pathways to citizenship—in shaping the long-term integration of immigrants and their descendants. The research aims at advancing our understanding of the mechanisms that foster economic mobility, promote inclusion, and sustain social cohesion in diverse and changing societies. 

ifo Migration Monitor

The aim of the ifo Migration Monitor is to provide up-to-date information both on regular migration and asylum-seekers in the European Union. ifo Migration Monitor is published by the ifo Center of Excellence for Migration and Integration Research (CEMIR) founded in 2012, which aims to play an active role in the immigration debate in Germany and Europe.

Prof. Dan Anderberg, Ph.D., Royal Holloway University of London

Prof. Dr. Stefan Bauernschuster, Universität Passau

Prof. Gordon B. Dahl, University of California, San Diego

Prof. Dr. Natalie Danzer, Freie Universität Berlin

Prof. Dr. Uwe Sunde, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Prof. Maria Waldinger, Ph.D., Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt

Dr. Martin Braml, LMU Munich

Dr. Timo Hener, Aarhus University

CESifo Area on Labor Economics