JProf. Dr. Svenja Hippel
JProf. Dr. Svenja Hippel is an assistant professor for law and economics at the University of Bonn since 2021. She is director of the Center for Advanced Studies in Law and Economics (CASTLE), as well as an associate member of the ECONtribute Cluster of Excellence and the transdisciplinary research area TRA 4 (Individuals, Institutions, and Societies).
Contact
Phone: +49 228 73-5892
Email: shippel@uni-bonn.de
Office: Juridicum, West Tower, 1st floor, Room 1.007Office hours: By appointment via email
Post: University of Bonn, CASTLE, Adenauerallee 24–42, 53115 Bonn
Areas of Research
- Law and economics
- Experimental economics
- Behavioral economics
Curriculum Vitae
JProf. Dr. Svenja Hippel studied the interdisciplinary bachelor’s program in Philosophy & Economics at the University of Bayreuth from 2007 to 2012. She then pursued a master’s degree in Economics at the University of Bonn from 2012 to 2014. During her doctoral studies at the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods and the University of Jena, she was a member of the International Max Planck Research School IMPRS Uncertainty. During this time, she spent several months as a visiting researcher at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Her dissertation, completed in 2018 in the field of behavioral and experimental economics, identifies institutional solutions for social dilemmas. Prior to her appointment as an assistant professor of law and economics, she was a research assistant at the Chair of Contract Theory and Information Economics at the University of Würzburg.
Publications
Hillenbrand, A., and Hippel, S. (2026). Strategic Inattention in Product Search. Management Science, 72(1), 693-722.
Chatziathanasiou, K., Hippel, S. and Kurschilgen, M. (2022). Does the Threat of Overthrow Discipline the Elites? Evidence from a Laboratory Experiment. Journal of Legal Studies, 51(2), 289-320.
Friehe, T., Hippel, S., and Schielke, A. (2021). Appeasing Yourself or Others? On the Use of Self-punishment and Compensation and How it Influences Punishment. Journal of Economic Psychology, 84, 102379.
Hippel, S., and Hoeppner, S. (2021). Contracts as Reference Points: A Replication. International Review of Law and Economics, 65, 105973.
Chatziathanasiou, K., Hippel, S., and Kurschilgen, M. (2020). Property, Redistribution, and the Status Quo: A Laboratory Study. Experimental Economics, 24(3), 919-951.
Hippel, S., and Hoeppner, S. (2019). Biased Judgements of Fairness in Bargaining: A Replication in the Laboratory. International Review of Law and Economics, 58, 63-74.
Thirdparty Funding Project SOZIAHR
The Mercator-funded research project SOZIAHR ("Social, Economic, and Administrative Challenges of Climate Resilience") aims to examine the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley on July 14, 2021, from a social science perspective and to develop empirically grounded recommendations for action.
Until the end of 2028, the interdisciplinary team at the University of Bonn, in cooperation with the Wuppertal Institute, will examine existing regulations and administrative processes in private reconstruction, as well as key prerequisites for social cohesion, the preservation of democracy, and the implementation of climate protection and adaptation measures.
The goal is to provide policy-relevant data and case-specific solutions for the Ahr Valley and, furthermore, to derive general recommendations for other regions.
JProf. Dr. Svenja Hippel leads the subproject “Climate Protection and Adaptation in Private Reconstruction” together with JProf. Dr. Jacqueline Lorenzen.
DFG Research Group „Legal and Social Consequences of Artificial Decision Making“
The triumph of machine decision-making marks a turning point for law and society. The research group's objectives are to identify the challenges and potential of machine decision-making for the functions of law in modern societies, to develop legal design options, and to reassess the role of jurisprudence in the context of machine decision-making.
JProf. Dr. Svenja Hippel is project leader of the subproject "Use of Artificial Intelligence in Civil Proceedings" (SP 4), which examines whether the law on civil procedure can better fulfil its core functions – such as ensuring legal certainty and protecting fundamental rights – if decisions are taken over, either partially or entirely, by AI.
