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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

  • African people business meeting

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

  • Analyses about communication and use of foreign exchange interventions

  • ODA in the Mutual Interest of Donors and Recipients

  • Working Paper

    Identifying Mutual Interests: How Donor Countries Benefit from Foreign Aid

  • News

    10.02.2025

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

  • Statement

    10.04.2024

    Most important European asylum system reform of the last decade makes decisive step forward

  • 13 – 14 Nov

    2025

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

    Public

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. Lennart Kaplan
    Kiel Institute Fellow
  • Prof. Dr. Menusch Khadjavi
    Kiel Institute Fellow
  • Prof. Dr. Matthias Lücke
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Claas Schneiderheinze
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • 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