Pálma Polyák and Erik Neimanns Awarded Permanent Contracts

In July of this year, Pálma Polyák and Erik Neimanns, both senior researchers in the Political Economy Research Area at the MPIfG, had their employment contracts extended indefinitely. The permanent positions offer the two researchers a long-term employment perspective and the opportunity to pursue a habilitation. Pálma Polyák joined the MPIfG in 2023. She works at the intersection of international and comparative political economy and is particularly interested in the politics of growth models, persistent current account imbalances, and fiscal austerity and underinvestment. For the 2026/27 academic year, Polyák is a Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence. Fellow MPIfG senior researcher Erik Neimanns joined the Institute in 2021 and works in comparative political economy, public policy, and comparative political science. Central to his research are growth models, macroeconomic policy, and welfare state and education reforms, with a special focus on early childhood. In his work he examines the interplay between public opinion, political parties, and other actors. Neimanns is also the MPIfG’s methods coordinator.