Dear reader,

This edition highlights new beginnings and bold ideas shaping today’s economic debate, from Nobel recognitions and academic milestones to timely reflections on growth, policy, and renewal in Europe and beyond.

Sincere regards,

Ernst Fehr, Director
Hans-Joachim Voth, Scientific Director

Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee to join UZH

We are delighted that the Department of Economics has been able to attract two of the world's most influential economists. Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee will join UZH in July 2026, where they will establish the Lemann Center for Development, Education and Public Policy. At the UBS Center, we are especially proud to call them familiar faces: both have long-standing ties to Zurich as members of the UBS Center Advisory Board and as repeat guests at UZH.

2025 Nobel prize for the power of ideas

We warmly congratulate the newly awarded Nobel laureates Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt. At the UBS Center, we are particularly proud: both Joel Mokyr and Philippe Aghion are long-standing members of our Advisory Board and have shared their research with Zurich audiences through UBS Center Opinions events.

Opinion event

Can Germany reinvent itself?

Germany’s economic slowdown, says Monika Schnitzer, is no passing phase but a structural crisis and a wake-up call to act. Speaking at the University of Zurich, the Chair of the German Council of Economic Experts identified the country’s greatest levers for renewal: targeted investment in education, research, and digital infrastructure; a leaner bureaucracy; and the courage to rethink social and industrial policy for the long term.

“In truth, Trump’s tariffs are disguised taxes”

In the US president’s economic policy, relationships with the White House count for more than good products. This undermines the efficiency of US companies, says economist David Dorn in an interview with Neue Zürcher Zeitung. “Ronald Reagan wanted the government to stay out of the economy. Under Donald Trump, the opposite is happening”, says Dorn.

Roland Fisher Prize for Lexi Schubert

We warmly congratulate our former UBS Center Scholarship Holder Lexi Schubert on receiving the prestigious Ronald Fisher Prize for the best junior (pre-tenure) paper. Lexi, currently a postdoctoral scholar at UC Berkeley, was honored for her paper “Self-Detrimental Avoidance of Rest”. Her findings suggest that people often misallocate their efforts between work and rest, which is especially relevant given the long-term costs of overwork, such as burnout.