Since January 2022, Professor Bernhard Ebbinghaus leads the Chair for Macrosociology at the University of Mannheim, which he had previously held from 2004 to 2016. On leave from 2017 until 2021, he was Professor for Social Policy at the University of Oxford, Head of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention and Senior Research Fellow, Green Templeton College, Oxford.
From November 2021 until February 2023, Professor Ebbinghaus was member of the European Commission’s High-Level Group on the future of social protection and of the welfare state in the EU.
Professor Ebbinghaus holds a PhD in social and political sciences from European University Institute (EUI, 1993), a Habilitation (2003) in sociology from University of Cologne, and a Master (Diplom, 1988) in sociology from University of Mannheim.
Professor Ebbinghaus was Head of Department A (2005–2008 and 2015) and Director (2008–2011) of the Mannheim Centre of European Social Research (MZES), where he led several research projects. From 2010 to 2023, he has been (co)-PI in the Project “Welfare States Reform from Below” (A6) at the collaborative research centre Political Economy of Reform (SFB 884).
From 2006 to 2009 he was Academic Director of the Center for Doctoral Studies in Social & Behavioral Sciences (CDSS) of the Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences (GESS). Most recently he was Guest Professor at the University of Luxembourg (2013–2016), Mercator Fellow (2018–22) at SFB884 University of Mannheim, OxPo Visiting Professor at CES, Sciences Po, Paris (9/2021) and Polanyi Visiting Professor at the University of Vienna (1/2023).
Publications and conference papers
- Ebbinghaus, B. (2023). Die Entzweiung der Siamesischen Zwillinge: Politische Entfremdung und Mitgliederschwund deutscher Gewerkschaften. In T. Faas, S. Huber, M. Krewel & S. Roßteutscher (eds.), Informationsflüsse, Wahlen und Demokratie: Festschrift für Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck (S. 355–378). Baden-Baden: Nomos. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748915553-355
- Ebbinghaus, B. (2023). Pension governance in a globalising world. In C. Karner & D. Hofäcker (eds.), Research handbook on the sociology of globalization (S. 308–318). Cheltenham, UK ; Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839101571.00039
- Ebbinghaus, B. & Lee, K. (2023). From early retirement to later exit from work: Shifting towards active ageing. In D. Clegg & N. Durazzi (eds.), Handbook of labour market policy in advanced democracies (S. 295–308). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800880887.00030
- Ebbinghaus, B. & Weishaupt, J. T. (eds.) (2022). The role of social partners in managing Europe's great recession : crisis corporatism or corporatism in crisis? London ; New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003186144
- Cheng, C., Desvars-Larrive, A., Ebbinghaus, B., Hale, T., Howes, A., Lehner, L., Messerschmidt, L., Nika, A., Penson, S., Petherick, A., Xu, H., Zapf, A. J., Zhang, Y. & Zweig, S. A. (2022). Capturing the COVID-19 crisis through public health and social measures data science. Scientific Data, 9(Article 520), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01616-8
- Ebbinghaus, B. (2022). Rentensysteme im Umbau: Herausforderungen und Reformwege der Alterssicherung in Europa. Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte : APuZ, 72(20), 35–40.
- Ebbinghaus, B. & Lehner, L. (2022). Cui bono – business or labour? Job retention policies during the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe. Transfer : European Review of Labour and Research, 28(1), 47–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/10242589221079151
- Ebbinghaus, B., Lehner, L. & Naumann, E. (2022). Welfare state support during the COVID-19 pandemic: Change and continuity in public attitudes towards social policies in Germany. European Policy Analysis : EPA, 8(3), 297–311. https://doi.org/10.1002/epa2.1152
- Ebbinghaus, B. & Weishaupt, J. T. (2022). Introduction : Studying social concertation in Europe. In B. Ebbinghaus & J. T. Weishaupt (eds.), The role of social partners in managing Europe's great recession : crisis corporatism or corporatism in crisis? (S. 3–23). London ; New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003186144-2
- Ebbinghaus, B. & Weishaupt, J. T. (2022). Readjusting unemployment protection in Europe: How crises reshape varieties of labour market regimes. Transfer : European Review of Labour and Research, 28(2), 181–194. https://doi.org/10.1177/10242589221086172
- Bender, B. & Ebbinghaus, B. (2021). When governments include social partners in crisis corportism : Comparing social concertation in Europe during the Great Recession. In B. Ebbinghaus & J. T. Weishaupt (eds.), The role of social partners in managing Europe's Great Recession : crisis corporatism or corporatism in crisis? (S. 24–50). London ; New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003186144-3
- Ebbinghaus, B. (2021). Inequalities and poverty risks in old age across Europe: The double-edged income effect of pension systems. Social Policy & Administration : SP&A, 55(3), 440–455. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12683
- Ebbinghaus, B. (2021). Unions and employers. In D. Béland, S. Leibfried, K. J. Morgan, H. Obinger & C. Pierson (eds.), The Oxford handbook of the welfare state (2. ed., S. 278–297). Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198828389.013.16
- Ebbinghaus, B. & Weishaupt, J. T. (2021). Postscript : Social partnership facing the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. In B. Ebbinghaus & J. T. Weishaupt (eds.), The role of social partners in managing Europe's Great Recession : crisis corporatism or corporatism in crisis? (S. 279–293). London ; New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003186144-17
- Ebbinghaus, B. & Weishaupt, J. T. (2021). Social concertation at a crossroad : Crisis corporatism or corporatism in crisis? In B. Ebbinghaus & J. T. Weishaupt (eds.), The role of social partners in managing Europe's Great Recession : crisis corporatism or corporatism in crisis? (S. 262–278). London ; New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003186144-16
- Bender, B. & Ebbinghaus, B. (2020). Social concertation in Europe during the Great Recession: A fsQCA-study of social partner involvement. In R. Careja (eds.), The European Social Model under pressure : liber amicorum in honour of Klaus Armingeon (S. 33–50). Wiesbaden: Springer VS. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-27043-8_3
- Biegert, T. & Ebbinghaus, B. (2020). Accumulation or absorption? Changing disparities of household non-employment in Europe during the Great Recession. Socio-Economic Review, 20(1), 141–168. https://doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwaa003
- Ebbinghaus, B. (2020). Chapter 22: Changing work and welfare: Unemployment and labour market policies. In N. Ellison & T. Haux (eds.), Handbook on society and social policy (S. 291–305). Cheltenham, UK ; Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788113526.00030
- Ebbinghaus, B. (2020). Uncertain futures of post-Brexit pensions: Three paradoxical implications. In M. Donoghue & M. Kuisma (eds.), Whither social rights in (post-)Brexit Europe? : opportunities and challenges (S. 69–76). Berlin ; London: Social Europe Publishing, Friedrich-Ebert-Stifung.
- Ebbinghaus, B. & Naumann, E. (2020). The legitimacy of public pensions in an ageing Europe: Changes in subjective evaluations and policy preferences, 2008–2016. In T. Laenen, B. Meuleman & W. van Oorschot (eds.), Welfare state legitimacy in times of crisis and austerity : between continuity and change (S. 159–176). Cheltenham , Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788976305.00020
- Ebbinghaus, B., Nelson, K. & Nieuwenhuis, R. (2020). Poverty in old age. In B. Greve (eds.), Routledge international handbook of poverty (S. 256–267). London ; New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429058103-20
- Ebbinghaus, B. (2019). Machtressourcentheorie und Korporatismusansatz. In H. Obinger & M. G. Schmidt (eds.), Handbuch Sozialpolitik (S. 117–138). Wiesbaden: Springer VS. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-22803-3_7
- Ebbinghaus, B. (2019). Multipillarisation remodelled: the role of interest organizations in British and German pension reforms. Journal of European Public Policy, 26(4), 521–539. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2019.1574875
- Ebbinghaus, B., Nelson, K. & Nieuwenhuis, R. (2019). Poverty in old age. LIS Working Paper Series / Luxembourg Income Study, 777. Walferdange, Luxembourg: Cross-National Data Center.
- Ebbinghaus, B. & Naumann, E. (eds.) (2018). Welfare state reforms seen from below : comparing public attitudes and organized interests in Britain and Germany . Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63652-8
- Ebbinghaus, B. (2018). Privatisierung und Vermarktlichung der Altersvorsorge: Eingetrübte Aussichten des deutschen Mehrsäulenmodells. WSI-Mitteilungen, 71(6), 468–475. https://doi.org/10.5771/0342-300X-2018-6-468
- Ebbinghaus, B. & Naumann, E. (2018). Class, union, or party allegiance? Comparing pension reform preferences in Britain and Germany. In B. Ebbinghaus & E. Naumann (eds.), Welfare state reforms seen from below : comparing public attitudes and organized interests in Britain and Germany (S. 107–128). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63652-8_5
- Ebbinghaus, B. & Naumann, E. (2018). Conclusion: The influence from below—How organized interests and public attitudes shape welfare state reforms in Europe. In B. Ebbinghaus & E. Naumann (eds.), Welfare state reforms seen from below : comparing public attitudes and organized interests in Britain and Germany (S. 273–287). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63652-8_11
- Ebbinghaus, B. & Naumann, E. (2018). Introduction: Analysing organized interests and public opinion towards welfare reforms. In B. Ebbinghaus & E. Naumann (eds.), Welfare state reforms seen from below : comparing public attitudes and organized interests in Britain and Germany (S. 1–23). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63652-8_1
- Ebbinghaus, B. & Naumann, E. (2018). The popularity of pension and unemployment policies revisited: The erosion of public support in Britain and Germany. In B. Ebbinghaus & E. Naumann (eds.), Welfare state reforms seen from below : comparing public attitudes and organized interests in Britain and Germany (S. 155–186). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63652-8_7
- Buß, C., Ebbinghaus, B. & Naumann, E. (2017). Making deservingness of the unemployed conditional: Changes in public support for the conditionality of unemployment benefits. In W. van Oorschot (eds.), The social legitimacy of targeted welfare : attitudes to welfare deservingness (S. 167–185). Cheltenham, UK ; Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781785367212.00022
- Ebbinghaus, B. (2017). The role of trade unions in pension policy-making and private pension governance in Europe. In D. Natali (eds.), The new pension mix in Europe : recent reforms, their distributional effects and political dynamics (S. 206–238). Brussels: Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/b10956
- Ebbinghaus, B. (2016). Institutional change in advanced democracies. In S. Maisel (eds.), Oxford Bibliographies / Political Science (S. ). New York ; Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/obo/9780199756223-0113
- Bahle, T., Ebbinghaus, B. & Göbel, C. (2015). Familien am Rande der Erwerbsgesellschaft : Erwerbsrisiken und soziale Sicherung familiärer Risikogruppen im europäischen Vergleich . Baden-Baden: Nomos editon sigma. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783845267357
- Ebbinghaus, B. (2015). Demografische Alterung und Reformen der Alterssicherung in Europa – Probleme der ökonomischen, sozialen und politischen Nachhaltigkeit. Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie : KZfSS, 67(Suppl. 1), 325–348. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11577-015-0318-5
- Ebbinghaus, B. (2015). Machtressourcentheorie und Korporatismusansatz. In G. Wenzelburger (eds.), Handbuch Policy-Forschung (S. 55–79). Wiesbaden: Springer VS. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-01968-6_3
- Ebbinghaus, B. (2015). Peter A. Hall and David Soskice, “Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage”. In S. J. Balla (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Classics in Public Policy and Administration (S. 605–621). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
- Ebbinghaus, B. (2015). The privatization and marketization of pensions in Europe: A double transformation facing the crisis. European Policy Analysis : EPA, 1(1), 56–73. https://doi.org/10.18278/epa.1.1.5
- Ebbinghaus, B. & Hofäcker, D. (2015). Reforming welfare states and changing capitalism : reversing early retirement regimes in Europe. In S. Ó Riain (eds.), The changing worlds and workplaces of capitalism (S. 79–97). Basingstoke [u.a.]: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Ebbinghaus, B. & Radl, J. (2015). Pushed out prematurely? Comparing objectively forced exits and subjective assessments of involuntary retirement across Europe. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 41, 115–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2015.04.001
- Ebbinghaus, B. (2014). Arbeitsbeziehungen in Europa seit 1945: Das europäische Sozialmodell unter Druck. In J.-O. Hesse (eds.), Perspectives on European Economic and Social History (S. 101–125). Baden-Baden: Nomos.
- Ebbinghaus, B. & Göbel, C. (2014). Mitgliederrückgang und Organisationsstrategien deutscher Gewerkschaften. In W. Schroeder (eds.), Handbuch Gewerkschaften in Deutschland (2. ed., S. 207–237). Wiesbaden: Springer VS. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-19496-7_9
- Ebbinghaus, B. & Weishaupt, J. T. (2014). Die Zukunft des deutschen Arbeitsmarkts in globalen Wissensgesellschaften. In P. Masuch (eds.), Eigenheiten und Zukunft von Sozialpolitik und Sozialrecht : Denkschrift 60 Jahre Bundessozialgericht (Bd. 1, S. 667–682). Berlin: Schmidt.