NZZ "Economist Influence Ranking" 2018: Ernst Fehr defends top position

Many economists are accused of concentrating solely on publishing academic journal articles and contributing little to the current economic policy debate. Is this really true? Five years ago, the NZZ launched the "Economists' Influence Ranking" to create more transparency in this area. "Whether someone shapes the economic debate is, of course, reflected in their research. But how an economist is perceived by the public also plays a role. That's why our influence ranking also explicitly takes into account perception in politics and presence in the media," says Dr. Jürg Müller, economics editor at the NZZ and co-author of the ranking.

Ernst Fehr tops the list

As in previous years, the well-known Zurich economics professor Ernst Fehr tops the 2018 "Economist Influence Ranking". Fehr is regarded as an international pioneer of behavioral economics, while Swiss economist Reiner Eichenberger from the University of Fribourg took second place for the third time in a row. Eichenberger's research focuses on controversial economic policy issues and his views are regularly featured in the media.third place was secured for the first time since 2015 by Bruno S. Frey, Director of Research at Crema. He is regarded as a pioneer of economic happiness research. So there are familiar faces in the top ranks. However, if you take a look at the complete ranking, you will discover many newcomers - as well as one or two younger economists.The entire ranking - including the ranking of the most influential research institutions in Switzerland - as well as detailed information on the study can be found at NZZ.ch/oekonomen-ranking retrievable.

About the NZZ's "Economist Influence Ranking"

The "Economist Influence Ranking" for the DACH region was launched in 2014 by the NZZ in collaboration with the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" in Germany and "Die Presse" in Austria. The ranking takes into account citations in third-party research papers, citations in the most important media and assessments by politicians, and the impact of research is often difficult to measure, particularly in economics. The NZZ's "Economist Influence Ranking" aims to create more transparency here.