Désirée I. Christofzik

Professor of Public Economics

German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer

Désirée I. Christofzik has held the Chair of Public Economics at the German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer since 2021. She is also a Research Associate at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim.

From 2019 to 2021, she was Professor of Public Finance at the Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences in Brühl, Germany. Prior to that, she served as Deputy Secretary General and Economist on the scientific staff of the German Council of Economic Experts.

Her research focuses on public finances in multilevel systems of government, the economic effects of institutional reforms, and tax and fiscal policy. Her main research interests include federal and local public finances, fiscal rules, and the empirical evaluation of fiscal policy measures.

She contributes her academic expertise to policy discussions through her membership in the Expert Commission on the Modernization of the German Debt Brake and her participation as an expert in parliamentary hearings at the federal and state levels, as well as in municipal bodies.

» Die Seite auf Deutsch

Interests

Public finances and intergovernmental fiscal relations
Public debt and fiscal rules
Tax and fiscal policy
Public financial management and accounting
Evaluation of reforms
Fiscal forecasting and tax revenue estimation

Publications

In refereed journals and recent working papers

Désirée I. Christofzik, Oliver Märtz (2026). Distance matters: Geographical proximity and fiscal rules enforcement. European Journal of Political Economy 93, 102824.

Cite Published Version Working Paper

Zareh Asatryan, Désirée I. Christofzik, Justus Nover (2026). Doubling Down Political Budget Cycles: The Role of State-Owned Enterprises. Economics & Politics, 38(1), 306-326.

Cite Published Version (ungated) Working Paper

Désirée I. Christofzik, Steffen Elstner, Lars P. Feld, Christoph M. Schmidt (2024). Unraveling the Productivity Paradox: Evidence for Germany. German Economic Review, 25(3), 165-207.

Cite Published Version Working Paper VoxEU Blog Inclusive Productivity

Désirée I. Christofzik, Sebastian G. Kessing (2024). On the public provision of positional goods. Oxford Economic Papers, 76(3), 708-721.

Cite Published Version (ungated) Working Paper

Désirée I. Christofzik, Angela Fuest, Robin Jessen (2022). Macroeconomic effects of the anticipation and implementation of tax changes in Germany: Evidence from a narrative account. Economica, 89(353), 62–81.

Cite Published Version (ungated) Working Paper Online Appendix

Désirée I. Christofzik, Steffen Elstner (2021). International spillover effects of U.S. tax reforms: Evidence from Germany. Oxford Economic Papers, 73(2), 578–600.

Cite Published Version (ungated) Working Paper Replication Files Online Appendix

Désirée I. Christofzik, Lars P. Feld, Mustafa Yeter (2020). Heterogeneous price and quantity effects of the real estate transfer tax in Germany. German Council of Economic Experts Working Paper 10/2020.

Cite Working Paper

Désirée I. Christofzik (2019). Does accrual accounting alter fiscal policy decisions? - Evidence from Germany. European Journal of Political Economy 60, 101805.

Cite Published Version Working Paper

Désirée I. Christofzik, Benny Schneider (2019). Fiscal Policy Adjustments to Budget Shocks: Evidence from German Municipalities. German Council of Economic Experts Working Paper 10/2019.

Cite Working Paper

Jochen Andritzky, Désirée I. Christofzik, Lars P. Feld, Uwe Scheuering (2019). A mechanism to regulate sovereign debt restructuring in the euro area. International Finance 22(1), 20–34.

Cite Published Version Working Paper

Désirée I. Christofzik, Lars P. Feld, Wolf Heinrich Reuter, Mustafa Yeter (2018). Uniting European fiscal rules: How to strenghten the fiscal framework. German Council of Economic Experts Working Paper 04/2018.

Cite Working Paper

See all publications

Policy Contributions

Applied publications

Désirée I. Christofzik (2026). Hearing of the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag on October 12th, 2026. Written Statement on the Draft of the 2027 Budget Accompanying Law.

PDF

Désirée I. Christofzik (2026). Generationengerechte Staatsfinanzen im Föderalismus. Deutschland neu denken, 226–231. Herausgeber: Funk, L., H.-P. Klös und R. Völker.

Verlag

Désirée I. Christofzik, Veronika Grimm (2026). Wachstumsgrundlagen erneuern, Sicherheit nachhaltig stärken. Studie im Auftrag des Gemeinschaftsausschusses der Deutschen Gewerblichen Wirtschaft.

PDF

Désirée I. Christofzik, Veronika Grimm (2026). Welches Reformpaket es jetzt braucht. Table.Briefings, Gastbeitrag vom 10.06.2026.

Open Access

Désirée I. Christofzik (2026). Generationengerechte Staatsfinanzen im Föderalismus. Weiterdenken. Zeitschrift für Position, Perspektive, Progression (2), 29–32.

Désirée I. Christofzik, Benny Schneider (2026). Vom Mittelabfluss zur Wirkung: Was dem Sondervermögen noch fehlt. ifo Schnelldienst 79 (4), 18–21.

Cite Open Access PDF

Désirée I. Christofzik, Matthias Hohlstein, Oliver Märtz (2026). Untersuchung der Auswirkungen einer progressiven kommunalen Schuldenbremse (PKS). Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Studie im Auftrag der Gemeinde Wiesenburg/Mark.

Désirée I. Christofzik (2025). Hearing of the Budget and Finance Committee and the Committee for Home Affairs and Local Government of the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia. Written statement for the hearing of the Budget and Finance Committee and the Committee for Home Affairs and Local Government on 2 December 2025 on the draft Act on the North Rhine-Westphalia Plan for Good Infrastructure 2025–2036 and the draft Act on the Adoption of the Budget of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia for the 2026 Fiscal Year, Statement 18/3205.

PDF

Désirée I. Christofzik, Benny Schneider (2025). Die unterschätzte Bedeutung von Erfolgskontrollen für eine wirkungsorientierte Haushaltsführung. Reform-Modelle im wirkungsorientierten Staat, Schriften des Praxis- und Forschungsnetzwerks der Hochschulen für den Öffentlichen Dienst (Band 17), 41–57. Herausgeber: Beck, J., J. Mathesius und E. Kraatz.

Cite Publisher

Désirée I. Christofzik (2025). Hearing of the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag on August 25th, 2025. Written Statement on the Drafts of the 2025 Budget Accompanying Law and the Law on the Establishment of a Special Fund for Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality.

PDF

See all publications