History of Schmollers Jahrbuch

The name "Journal of Applied Social Science Studies" is new, however the journal itself is quite established. Originally, it was founded about 130 years ago under the title "Journal on Legislation, Public Administration and Judicature in Germany" (Jahrbuch für Gesetzgebung, Verwaltung und Rechtspflege des Deutschen Reiches) and became famous as "Schmollers Journal of Legislation, Public Administration and Economics" (Schmollers Jahrbuch für Gesetzgebung, Verwaltung und Volkswirtschaft).Gustav von Schmoller was an influential economist at the beginning of the century. "Schmollers Jahrbuch" was published from 1913 to 1967. From 1968 to 1999 the German Economic Association (Verein für Socialpolitik) edited the journal under the title "Journal of Economics and Social Sciences" (Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften). In 2000 the German Economic Association will launch a new journal, the German Economic Review (GER), which will provide a forum for economic analysis in a more pure sense.

The start of GER is a chance to revitalize the idea of Schmollers Jahrbuch, which was in the past a forum for applied social sciences. "Applied" means research applying social science methods to problems of the "real world". Theoretical, empirical and historical methods are appropriate as long as the research question is applied in nature.