Welcome to my website!

I am Director of the Ludwig Erhard ifo Center for Social Market Economy and Institutional Economics and Professor of Economics at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg. I recently visited Cornell University, hosted by Michèle Belot, and funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. 

My research focuses on questions at the intersection of behavioral, public, and labor economics. Currently, I am involved in several projects that aim to explore how well people understand economic mechanisms and how this understanding influences their policy preferences.  A related area of research that excites me is examining how (complexity of) rules and bureaucratic procedures as well as transfers and subsidies affect behavior. 

I am actively engaged in policy advice and communication. My work informs public debates and policy discussions, and I contribute to evidence-based policymaking through expert consultations, policy briefs, and outreach activities. I am a member of the Female Economists Network of the German Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Call for Papers: Submit your work to the Ludwig Erhard ifo Conference on Understanding Economic Policy on
1. What do we know about how policies work?

2. Why is knowledge about the intended and unintended effects of policies so often not translated into practice?

Deadline Nov 15 2026

E-Mail: necker@ifo.de

My CV can be found here