Princeton, Berkeley, and Cambridge: some of the most prestigious places in global academia were represented at the inaugural IWH Senior Workshop on Future Labour Markets (FLAME), held in Halle. The conference, initiated by IWH researchers Steffen Müller (Head of the Structural Change and Productivity Department) and Simon Wiederhold (Senior Research Advisor), followed a distinctive format: no public call, no open application process. Participation was by invitation only. The goal was to bring together a small group of top international researchers, alongside excellent junior researchers, to exchange cutting-edge ideas in an intimate and focused setting. After a year of preparation, the first FLAME workshop took place on 13–14 June 2025.

Over the course of two days, two dozen scholars from the USA, Canada, Sweden, Norway, and Germany came together. Many of them rank among the leading experts in labour economics. Among them were Thomas Lemieux, co-editor of the Handbook of Labor Economics, who co-organised the event and presented on the role of unions in wage distribution; Simon Jäger, a professor at Princeton University whose advisory work extends into German federal policy; and Benjamin Schoefer from UC Berkeley, who has long been affiliated with the Halle Institute as a Research Fellow. Events like FLAME not only raise the Institute’s international profile but also provide fertile ground for new collaborative research projects.

What economists debate today can shape tomorrow’s policy. With its combination of rigorous academic research and a growing role in policy advising, the Halle Institute continues to position itself as a hub for leading international scholars. FLAME exemplifies this evolution. The event will now be held regularly in Halle, reinforcing the Institute’s ambition to become a leading European centre for research on structural change in labour markets.

There is no shortage of pressing questions – Germany’s ongoing debates around the minimum wage, the structural implications of coal phase-out, and the twin challenges of digitalisation and climate transformation. Wage formation and employment, unionisation and institutions, automation and green innovation: the labour market is evolving on multiple fronts. These transitions raise opportunities, risks, and important societal questions. The Structural Change and Productivity Department is committed to addressing them through targeted, policy-relevant research.