Skip to main navigation Skip to main content Skip to page footer
Research Center

International Development

The Research Center "International Development" investigates the forces shaping global development, focusing on how countries, firms, and people are interconnected through migration, trade, and capital flows. We use survey data, experimental data, and geodata, typically analyzing them with microeconometric and machine learning methods.

We study several topics, including

Migration:
We examine labor mobility, asylum, and the developmental impact of migration in countries of origin, as well as the effectiveness of EU and member state migration policies.
 

Macroeconomics:
Our work addresses macroeconomic issues relevant for development, such as exchange rate policy and infrastructure needs in emerging economies, especially in Africa.
 

Africa:
The focus continent of work is Africa, which will gain massive economic, geopolitical, and demographic significance in the coming decades. The Research Center coordinates the Africa-related work across the entire institute as part of the Kiel Institute Africa Initiative. Our projects are funded by the EU, federal ministries, the German Research Foundation, and others.

Supply Chains:
We explore how global value chains affect economic development and how sustainability regulations, such as diligence laws, shape their governance.
 

Institutions and Attitudes:
We study how norms, institutions, and preferences influence development. Topics include trust in post-conflict settings, attitudes toward foreign employers, and meritocratic structures in public administration.
 

Development Cooperation:
We examine how development cooperation supports economic development and intersects with migration and institutions. Research questions include the potential to address the root causes of forced migration and the political-economic barriers to its effectiveness.

Director

  • Prof. Dr. Tobias Heidland
    Research Director

Deputy head

  • Prof. Dr. Rainer Thiele
    Kiel Institute Researcher

Contact

Publications

Publications highlights and recent academic publications in citable form:

Go to publication list

  • Project

    Analyzing the allocation of training resources via the Centre for Entrepreneurship (C4E) in Kenya

    The Centre for Entrepreneurship (C4E) is launching a research project in Kenya aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of entrepreneurship training in…

  • Project

    Analyses about communication and use of foreign exchange interventions

    Central banks, in particular from emerging and developing economies, intervene frequently on foreign exchange markets in order to influence the…

  • Project

    ODA in the Mutual Interest of Donors and Recipients

    Providing solid evidence for public debate and political decision-making: How official development assistance (ODA) can simultaneously serve donor…

  • News

    03.11.2025

    African women scientists medics professionals work in hospital test lab with patient samples

    Where the next 100 mio. jobs will be created: Africa leads the way

    The Global Jobs Index provides the first-ever projection of where future jobs will be created. By 2030, the global number of jobs will increase by…

  • Working Paper

    Identifying Mutual Interests: How Donor Countries Benefit from Foreign Aid

    Official development assistance (ODA) is widely studied for its impact on recipient countries, but its effects on donor countries remain…

  • News

    10.02.2025

    Global Economic Challenges: Why a New German Government Must Think and Act European

    Pursuing a European approach to international trade policy—the agenda of the Kiel Institute calls for a robust EU response to geopolitical tensions,…

  • 11 – 12 Jun

    2026

    Conference

    GDE Conference 2026 and 1st Conference of the EDEG

    Kiel Institut für Weltwirtschaft

    By invitation

  • 12 – 13 Feb

    2026

    Workshop

    Finance for Development Workshop at Geneva Graduate Institute

  • 18 – 19 Dec

    2025

    Workshop

    Aarhus — Kiel Workshop 2025

  • 13 – 14 Nov

    2025

    Understanding the Shifting Landscape of African Economic Development

    2nd KIEL-CEPR African Economic Development Conference (AEDC)

  • 20 Jun

    2025

    Report Launch

    Fit for war by 2030? European rearmament efforts vis-a-vis Russia: rising but lagging in numbers and technologies

    Online

Team

  • Prof. Dr. Andreas Fuchs
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Thomas Gautier, Ph.D.
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Prof. Dr. Tobias Heidland
    Research Director
  • Sebastian Jävervall, Ph.D.
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Prof. Dr. Tim Kaiser
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Dr. Kacana Khadjavi
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Linda Maokomatanda
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Prof. Dr. Lukas Menkhoff
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Sekou Metiki
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Maximilian Michael
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Dr. Rainer Schweickert
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Frauke Steglich
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Prof. Dr. Rainer Thiele
    Kiel Institute Researcher

Fellows

  • Dr. Lena Detlefsen
    Kiel Institute Fellow
  • Dr. Lennart Kaplan
    Kiel Institute Fellow
  • Prof. Dr. Menusch Khadjavi
    Kiel Institute Fellow
  • Prof. Dr. Matthias Lücke
    Kiel Institute Fellow
  • Claas Schneiderheinze
    Kiel Institute Fellow
  • Sebastian Krantz, Ph.D.
    Kiel Institute Junior Fellow

Current Job Vacancies

Initiatives

  • African Boys smiling

    Africa Initiative

  • China Shipping container transported in harbor

    China Initiative