This volume takes a broad perspective on the recent debate on the role of German ordoliberalism in shaping European economic policy before and after the eurozone crisis. It shows how ordoliberal scholars explain the institutional origins of the eurozone crisis, and presents creative policy proposals for the future of the European economy.

Ordoliberal discourse both attempts to offer political solutions to socioeconomic challenges, and to find an ideal market order that fosters individual freedom and social cohesion. This tension between realpolitik and economic utopia reflects the wider debate on how far economic theory shapes, and is shaped by, historical contingencies and institutions.

The volume will be of interest to policymakers as well as research scholars, and graduate students from various disciplines ranging from economics to political science, history, and philosophy.

Malte Dold is an assistant professor in the Economics Department at Pomona College in California. Previously, he spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow at New York University. He holds a master’s degree in philosophy and economics from the University of Bayreuth, and received his PhD in economics from the University of Freiburg. His research lies at the intersection of behavioral economics, welfare economics, and political economy. In particular, his research looks at normative and methodological issues in behavioral economics and the historical interdependencies between Austrian and ordoliberal economic thought.

Tim Krieger is the Wilfried Guth Professor of Constitutional Political Economy and Competition Policy at University of Freiburg. He holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Kiel, and received his PhD in economics from the University of Munich. He worked as an assistant and interim professor at the universities of Mainz, Marburg, and Paderborn. His research focuses on economic, social, and education policies in aging and globalizing societies with a special focus national and supranational institutions. In addition, he specializes in the economics of conflict, terrorism, and crime.