Bruno S. Frey

Bruno Frey 2010

Bruno S. Frey (born May 4, 1941 in Basel ) is a Swiss economist .

He is considered one of the pioneers of the economic theory of politics and economic happiness research as well as a leading researcher in the field of cultural economics . Frey has published not only in the scientific journals of political economy, but also in journals of political science , management theory , psychology , sociology , law , history , art and culture and even theology .

Frey is a permanent visiting professor for political economy at the University of Basel . He is also Research Director at CREMA - Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts in Zurich.

According to the RePEc ranking of 2020, he ranks 16th among the most cited European economists.

Training, activities

Frey finished his studies in political economy in 1964 at the Philosophical-Historical Faculty of the University of Basel and at the University of Cambridge (England) with a Licentiatus rerum politicarum ( licentiate ). He received his doctorate in 1965 and completed his habilitation in 1969 at the University of Basel, with which he remained from 1970 to 2010 as an associate professor. Frey received a full professorship in 1970 at the University of Konstanz ; In 1977 he moved to the University of Zurich as full professor of economics . From 2010 to 2013 he worked as Distinguished Professor of Behavioral Science at Warwick Business School . At the end of July 2012 the University of Zurich let the professor emeritus expire. According to media reports, criticism of Frey's scientific working method was the reason for the decision. From 2012 to 2015 Frey was visiting professor for political economy at the Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen. Frey has been Permanent Visiting Professor at the University of Basel since August 2015, where he is co-founder of the Center for Research in Economics and Well-Being (CREW).

Frey has been co-editor of the economic journal Kyklos since 1969 . Since 2004 he has been one of the four research directors of the CREMA (Center for Research in Economics, and Statistics Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts), together with his co-founders Reiner Eichenberger (University of Friborg) and René L. Frey and later added Margit Osterloh (University of Zurich).

In 2004 he was appointed to the eight-member expert committee of the Copenhagen Consensus alongside four Nobel Prize winners . On the basis of economic cost-benefit analyzes , recommendations were drawn up on the challenges facing humanity (hunger, AIDS, water supply , access to sanitary facilities, trade restrictions, corruption and global warming ) that should be given priority.

Frey supported the Charter of Digital Fundamental Rights of the European Union published in November 2016 .

research

Frey's research focus is the application of economics to new areas (politics, art, history, terrorism and war, family) and the expansion of the model of human behavior by including psychological and sociological elements ( behavioral economics ). He was one of the first economists to deal with the following areas:

• Empirical models for the relationship between economy and politics, in particular political-economic business cycles
• New concepts of federalism ( Functional, Overlapping, Competing Jurisdiction, FOCJ )
• Crowding-out and intrinsic motivation
• Awards.

In the NZZ ranking in 2014 and 2015, he was ranked third among the “most influential economists in Switzerland”, taking into account academic performance and public perception in the media and politics. In addition, according to the “Economists Influence Ranking” of the NZZ of September 21, 2019, Frey was ranked 4th in Switzerland (2nd in terms of research performance) and according to the FAZ's “Germany's Most Influential Economists” of September 21, 2019: 5th in Germany evaluated. In the “Handelsblatt VWL Ranking 2019” on September 16, 2019, it was placed first in the “Lifetime Achievement” category.

Political Economy

Democracy and federalism

In this area, Frey dealt mainly with the role of direct democracy . He developed (together with Reiner Eichenberger ) a functionally oriented form of federalism called Functional Overlapping Competing Jurisdiction (FOCJ). He regards both direct democracy and federalism as trend-setting institutions of the future.

Economy of Terrorism

Frey argues that if possible, terrorists should be brought back into civil society by discussing with them and taking their concerns seriously. An effective means against terrorism is also a decentralization of the economy and politics. Deterrence is rarely useful when dealing with terrorists. Here Frey also refers to historical experience.

New proposals on democracy and participation

From a public choice perspective, Bruno S. Frey develops various ideas relating to democracy and participation law that can be used in both a political and an economic context:

1. Companies could partially issue voting rights , which usually belong to the owners or shareholders , to the workforce, customers or other actors involved in the business process in order to benefit from their proximity and knowledge of the operational business process and to generate motivation through participation.
2. With regard to democratic electoral systems in a state , Bruno S. Frey suggests a coupling of residency and voting rights as well as a grinding in and grinding out of weighting of votes . In doing so, he follows the fundamental democratic concept that those who are affected decide.
   1. Immigrants, for example, could receive 20% after the first two years, 50% after five years and 100% of the voting weight.
   2. Citizens living abroad would receive a decreasing weighting of voting rights.
   3. For commuters, on the other hand, a division of the voting rights 50% in the place of residence and 50% in the country of employment would be conceivable.
3. With regard to constitutional decisions, Frey suggests a disproportionate weighting of votes from older voters. In stark contrast to the usual argument that young people should be more involved in democratic decisions, since decisions extend further into their personal future, Frey assumes that when making fundamental constitutional decisions, older people make less self-interested decisions and thus more sustainable decisions are made .
4. Regarding the phenomenon of narrow-looking referendums , Frey suggests that the narrowly failed opposition should be encouraged to immediately work out a counter-proposal or a new compromise, which will be voted on again in a timely manner and which potentially represents a larger part of the population's opinions.
5. Bruno S. Frey also suggests that random or aleatoric concepts could be used alongside elections in democracies. The principle of chance allows the concrete guarantee of equality of opportunity , fairness and precise representation and thus reduces political problems which the New Political Economy describes.
   1. Referendums could be decided by lot, the weighting of which could be based on the voting results.
   2. Members of parliament could partially be elected to parliament by lot from the general population .

Behavioral economics

Motivation and displacement effects

In economics it has always been assumed that people work more intensively and more if they receive higher monetary remuneration. According to Frey, monetary incentives can also have a counterproductive effect if they suppress the intrinsic motivation to work. ( See also: Corruption Effect .)

Economy of awards (orders, medals, honors)

While economic incentives are viewed in the form of monetary remuneration, Frey suggests an increased use of immaterial incentives, especially awards. He points out that these days awards are mainly used in profit-oriented companies.

Happiness research

Frey was one of the first to apply economic analysis to the phenomenon of happiness. In particular, he has shown that not only demographic and economic factors (such as income or unemployment) determine happiness, but also institutional factors such as democracy and political decentralization.

Corporate governance

Frey turns vigorously against a performance-related pay (pay for performance) and sees advantages in a fixed salary. For the supervisory board of companies, he suggests a random selection from those stakeholders who cannot secure their investments by means of contracts. The latter include customers, employees and the general public.

Art and culture economics

Frey deals with the organization of theaters, operas and museums, as well as the return on investments in works of art. He finds that the latter are less financially viable than other investments. Such investments are still made because there is also a psychological return. According to the economic publication database IDEAS , Frey is a world leader in research in the field of cultural economics .

New proposal for dealing with refugees

In April 2016, Bruno Frey and Osterloh published a highly regarded article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, which was also discussed on radio and television. In analogy to the cooperative model, you propose that refugees must acquire a share certificate to enter the country. Anyone who buys such a share certificate can enter the relevant country and receive a work permit. The fee will be reimbursed to recognized political asylum seekers. With this procedure, the criminal smugglers are booted out and the refugees' motivation to integrate is strengthened. In addition, their willingness to return to their home country is supported, not least because they can then sell their shares and use the money to build up a position in their home country. The refugees are no longer treated as passive "goods", but can make their own decisions as individuals. The proposal is therefore beneficial for the refugees, the recipient country and the home country.

Publications (selection)

Frey published more than 350 articles in scientific journals. He belongs to the group of Most Highly Cited Researchers (ISI Web of Knowledge, Institute, Thomson, since 2009).

• Methodological and empirical foundations of the educational prognosis in Baden-Württemberg. Dissertation, Basel 1966
• Environmental economics. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1972, ISBN 3-525-33329-3
• Modern political economy. Piper, Munich 1977, ISBN 3-492-02312-6
• Theory of Democratic Economic Policy. Vahlen, Munich 1981, ISBN 3-8006-0846-4
• with Hannelore Weck and Werner W. Pommerehne: shadow economy. Vahlen, Munich 1984, ISBN 3-8006-1029-9
• International Political Economy. Vahlen, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-8006-1137-6
• with Hannelore Weck-Hannemann and Werner W. Pommerehne : The secret economy. Res publica helvetica 18. Haupt, Bern 1986, ISBN 3-258-03541-5
• Economics is social science. The application of economics to new areas. Vahlen, Munich 1990, ISBN 3-8006-1439-1
• with Werner W. Pommerehne: Muses and Markets. Approaches to an economics art. Vahlen, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-8006-1700-5
• Not just for the money. An economic theory of personal motivation. E. Elgar, Cheltenham [et al. a.] 1997, ISBN 1-85898-509-9
• Market and Motivation. How economic incentives displace (work) morality. Vahlen, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-8006-2168-1
• A New Federalism for Europe: The Idea of ​​the FOCJ . Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 1997, ISBN 3-16-146790-6
• with Reiner Eichenberger: The New Democratic Federalism for Europe. Functional, Overlapping and Competing Jurisdictions. Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, Cheltenham, 1999, ISBN 1-84064-004-9 , ISBN 1-84376-901-8
• Arts & Economics. Analysis & Cultural Policy. Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 2000, ISBN 3-540-67342-3
• with Margit Osterloh: Managing Motivation. How you can use the new motivation research for your company. Gabler, Wiesbaden 2000, ISBN 3-409-11631-1
• Inspiring Economics: Human Motivation in Political Economy. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, Mass., 2001, ISBN 1-84064-205-X
• with Alois Stutzer: Happiness and economics. How the economy and institutions affect well-being. Princeton University Press, Princeton (NJ) 2002, ISBN 0-691-06998-0 , ISBN 0-691-06997-2
• Dealing with Terrorism: Stick or Carrot. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., Cheltenham, UK and Nothhampton, Mass., 2004, ISBN 1-84376-828-3 , ISBN 1-84542-258-9
• Happiness: A Revolution in Economics. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA and London, England 2008, ISBN 978-0-262-06277-0
• with Claudia Frey Marti: luck - the view of the economy. Rüegger Verlag, Zurich and Chur 2010, ISBN 978-3-7253-0936-8
• with Margit Osterloh : Academic Rankings between the "Republic of Science" and "New Public Management" . The Economics of Economists, edited by Alessandro Lanteri and Jack Vromen, Cambridge University Press, 2014, ISBN 978-1-107-01570-8
• with Lars P. Feld and Sarah Necker: Happiness of economists . In: Applied Economics, Vol. 47, issue 10, 2015, pp. 990-1007. ISSN  0003-6846 , DOI: 0.1080 / 00036846.2014.985374
• with Ho Fai Chan, Jana Gallus and Benno Torgler: Academic honors and performance. In: Labor Economics 31 (December 2014), pp. 188–204, doi: 10.1016 / j.labeco.2014.05.005 , ISSN: 0927-537
• with Jana Gallus: Happiness: Research and Policy Considerations. In: Advances in Happiness Research - A Comparative Perspective. Part of the series Creative Economy, Toshiaki Tachibanaki (ed.), Springer Japan, Jan. 30, 2016, Tokyo, Heidelberg, New York, Dordrecht, London: pp. 9–21, doi: 10.1007 / 978-4-431-55753-1 , ISBN 978-4-431-55752-4
• with Alois Stutzer: Policy Consequences of Happiness Research. In: Policies for Happiness, eds. Stefano Bartolini, Ennio Bilancini, Luigino Bruni, Pier Luigi Porta. Oxford University Press, Oxford, March 10, 2016, pp. 21-35, ISBN 978-0-19-875873-0 .
• with Jana Gallus : Honors versus Money: The Economics of Awards. Oxford University Press , 2017 Oxford, ISBN 9780198798507 .
• with Jana Gallus : Motivation and Awards. In: The Cambridge Handbook of Psychology and Economic Behavior, 2nd edition, ed. Alan Lewis, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2018, Part VII - New Horizons, pp. 697-712, SBN 978-1-107-16139-9. doi: 10.1017 / 9781316676349
• with Margit Osterloh : Migration Policy - What can we learn from Cooperatives ?. In: Althammer Jörg, Neumärker Bernhard, Nothelle-Wildfeuer Ursula (eds) (2019). Solidarity in Open Societies. Springer VS, Wiesbaden, Chapter 2: Applications, pp. 267–282, (online first 8 June 2019) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-23641-0_15, Print: ISBN 978-3-658-23640-3 , 22 July 2019.

Latest publications as editor

• with David Iselin: Economic Ideas You Should Forget. Springer International Publishing, 2017. ISBN 978-3-319-47457-1 .
• Economic research on happiness. Compact - understandable - application-oriented. Gabler Verlag, 2017. ISBN 978-3-658-17777-5 .
• with Jana Gallus: Honors versus money . The Economics of Awards. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. ISBN 9780198798507 .
• Economics of Happiness . Springer International Publishing, 2018. ISBN 978-3-319-75806-0 .
• with Christoph A. Schaltegger: 21st Century Economics. Economic Ideas You Should Read and Remember. Springer International Publishing, 2019. ISBN 978-3-030-17739-3 .
• Economics of Art and Culture. Compact - understandable - application-oriented. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden, 2019. ISBN 978-3-658-26679-0 .

Awards

• 1965: Cooperative Prize of the Philosophical-Historical Faculty of the University of Basel
• 1996: Raymond Vernon Award from the Association for Public Policy and Management United States of America
• 1998: Honorary doctorates from the University of St. Gallen and the University of Gothenburg (Sweden)
• 1998: Fellow of the Public Choice Society
• 2004: Elected Fellow of the European Economic Association
• 2005: Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE)
• 2005: Distinguished CESifo Fellow Oxford University Press
• 2005: Academic Affiliate, Judge School of Business, University of Cambridge (UK)
• 2007: Gustav Stolper Prize , awarded for the first time by the Verein für Socialpolitik
• 2008: Friedrich von Wieser Prize, Prague Conference on Political Economy
• 2009: Honorary doctorate from the Free University of Brussels (Belgium)
• 2010: Honorary doctorate from the University of Paul Cézanne Aix-Marseille III (France)
• 2010: Distinguished Fellow of the Association for Cultural Economics, International
• 2011: Honorary doctorate from the Leopold Franzens University Innsbruck (Austria)
• 2012: Röpke Prize for Civil Society, awarded by the Liberal Institute

Memberships

• 2004 European Academy of Sciences and Arts
• 2005 Corresponding Member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE)

Most cited works

According to Google Scholar, the following works are the most cited works by Bruno S. Frey: (accessed on June 4, 2019)

• Frey, BS, & Stutzer, A. (2002). What can economists learn from happiness research ?. Journal of Economic literature , 40 (2), 402-435. - 3842 citations
• Frey, BS, & Stutzer, A. (2010). Happiness and economics: How the economy and institutions affect human well-being . Princeton University Press. - 3635 citations
• Frey, BS, & Jegen, R. (2001). Motivation crowding theory. Journal of economic surveys , 15 (5), 589-611. - 3187 citations
• Frey, BS (1997). Not just for the money. Books . - 3042 citations
• Osterloh, M., & Frey, BS (2000). Motivation, knowledge transfer, and organizational forms. Organization science , 11 (5), 538-550. - 2496 citations
• Frey, BS, & Oberholzer-Gee, F. (1997). The cost of price incentives: An empirical analysis of motivation crowding-out. The American economic review ,; 87 (4): 746-755. - 1837 citations
• Frey, BS, & Stutzer, A. (2000). Happiness, economy and institutions. The Economic Journal, 110 (466), 918-938, - 1767 citations

Self-plagiarism

accusations

From the end of April 2011, Frey was accused in blogs and wikis of creating “ self-plagiarism ”, also called “competing publications”, and of failing to mention studies by other researchers on the same topic, albeit with a different question. For example, over a period of two years he published similar articles on the sinking of the RMS Titanic in four different journals. Other similar cases have been investigated. The term “self-plagiarism” is controversial, however, because the scientific consensus is that you cannot copy yourself.

Reactions

At the beginning of July, the University of Zurich started an official investigation into the allegations, but did not publish an official report on the results of the investigation.

The editor of the Journal of Economic Perspectives and MIT professor David H. Autor described Frey's publication behavior as "ethically questionable and disrespectful" and as a violation of the publication guidelines of the American Economic Association . In his reply to the author Frey wrote: "It was a serious mistake on our part, for which we apologize many times". To media representatives he replied to the criticism that he had simply “lost track of things” and “I don't feel particularly guilty”.

Research Papers in Economics , an online platform to promote the dissemination of scientific publications in economics and related disciplines, put him and his co-authors Benno Torgler and David Savage on their list of authors who have published self-plagiarism.

In an interview with Harald Freiberger in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Frey reports that a committee of three scientists, including a Nobel Prize winner, investigated the case and viewed Frey's behavior as flawed but at the same time a venial sin.

Web links

Commons : Bruno Frey  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Site by Bruno S. Frey (English)
• Bruno S. Frey on uzh.ch ( Memento from October 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
• Literature by and about Bruno S. Frey in the catalog of the German National Library
• Bruno S. Frey in the catalog of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics (ZBW)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Economics: American Economic Review / Journal of Political Economy Political Science: American Political Science Review Managementlehre (Management): Academy of Management Review Psychologie (Psychology): British Journal of Social Psychology / Perspectives in Psychological Science Sociology ( Sociology): Social Research / Rationality and Society Recht (Law): Journal of Law and Economics Geschichte (History): Historical Social Research / Journal of Economic History Kunst und Kultur (Arts and Culture): Empirical Studies in the Arts / Culture, Society and Markets Theologie (Theology): Lumen - A Journal of Catholic Studies
2. ↑ RePEc Ranking: Top 12.5% ​​authors in Europe .
3. ↑ Biography in tabular form ( Memento of the original from April 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 78 kB) from his website 
4. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from April 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ unibas.ch/crew (accessed June 6, 2020).
6. ↑ www.kyklos-review.ch
7. ↑ www.crema-research.ch
8. ↑ Full text (pdf) with a list of supporters and a list of initiators.
9. ↑ Matthias Müller: The most influential economists in Switzerland. NZZ, September 6, 2014, No. 206, page 34.
10. ↑ Jürg Müller: “Economists Influence Ranking” 2015. Which economists set the tone in Switzerland. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung from September 5, 2015.
11. ↑ Stefan Häberli / Philip Küng (graphic): Ökonomen-Ranking der NZZ 2019: The complete ranking . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . ( nzz.ch [accessed on September 23, 2019]).
12. ↑ FAZ: The table: Germany's most influential economists in 2019 . ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed September 23, 2019]).
13. ↑ Handelsblatt-VWL-Ranking 2019: VWL-Ranking list: practical research prevails. Retrieved September 23, 2019 . 
14. ↑ Beat Kappeler (Ed.): What can economics ?: Silvio Borner, Bruno S. Frey, Kurt Schiltknecht on economic value, growth, change and competition. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 2007, ISBN 978-3-03823-331-2 , p. 29
15. ^ Dealing with Terrorism: Stick or Carrot. Cheltenham, UK and Nothhampton, Mass .: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. (2004)
16. ↑ Bruno S. Frey, Iris Bohnet, The Economy Between Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation , Homo oeconomicus, ACCEDO Verlagsgemeinschaft, Munich 1994, Volume XI, Number 1 ( PDF ).
17. ↑ Bruno Frey; Stutzer, Alois: Happiness and economics. How the economy and institutions affect well-being. Princeton Univ. Press: Princeton (2002)
18. ↑ Economist's voice: wrong way variable performance remuneration
19. ^ Bruno S. Frey. Arts & Economics: Analysis & Cultural Policy. Springer, Heidelberg 2003, ISBN 3-540-67342-3
20. ↑ Ranking in the "Cultural Economics" section of IDEAS (English)
21. ↑ Requires entry fees from refugees!
22. ↑ Kulturzeit interview with Margit Osterloh
23. ↑ Entrance fee to Europe ( Memento of the original from March 17, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
24. ↑ Honors versus Money , on the Oxford University Press homepage, accessed October 4, 2019.
25. ^ The Cambridge Handbook of Psychology and Economic Behavior edited by Alan Lewis. February 2018, accessed on August 27, 2019 . 
26. ↑ http://www.appam.org/awards/raymond-vernon-memorial-award/
27. ↑ https://scholar.google.de/scholar?q=bruno+s+frey&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5 scholar.google Google Scholar
28. ↑ Olaf Storbeck: In: Economics Intelligence July 7, 2011 A summary of the Bruno Frey affair. ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
29. ↑ Olaf Storbeck: In: Handelsblatt July 7, 2011 Star economist writes off himself.
30. ↑ FreyPlag Wiki
31. ↑ www 20minuten ch, 20 minutes, 20 min. Www.20min.ch: “I didn't quote myself enough ”. Retrieved June 4, 2019 . 
32. ^ Olaf Storbeck: In: Handelsblatt September 12, 2011
33. ^ J. Barkley Rosser, Jr .: Tales from the Editor's Crypt: Dealing with True, Uncertain, and False Accusations of Plagiarism. Available at: http://cob.jmu.edu/rosserjb . Retrieved March 13, 2012
34. ^ Olaf Storbeck: University of Zurich looks at Frey's conduct. ( Memento from July 17, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
35. ^ Correspondence. In: Journal of Economic Perspectives. Volume 25, No. 3, Summer 2011, pp. 239-240
36. ↑ http://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.25.3.239
37. ↑ http://www.20min.ch/finance/news/story/23158193
38. ↑ http://info.sonntagszeitung.ch/archiv/detail/?newsid=215929
39. ^ RePEc plagiarism offenders. Retrieved February 6, 2012
40. ↑ A new Mercedes only makes you happy for a few weeks. Süddeutsche Zeitung of February 24, 2012, p. 26