In October 2022, allegations arose that Falk had committed sexual abuse. In March 2023, Falk's employer briq stated in a public statement that an independent investigation did not confirm the allegations, and that Falk was fully rehabilitated from briq's perspective.[2] The University of Bonn concluded from the independent investigation and their own review of the matter that "there are no findings to substantiate the allegations made via social media" and that Falk "has been fully exonerated from the allegations made".[3] After the Deutsche Post Foundation, the sponsor, announced in 2023 its intention to merge the briq institute with the IZA, and IZA Director Simon Jäger subsequently announced his departure, Falk was slated to take over as the director of the combined institution. This sparked widespread opposition within the German and international economics community. In November 2023, hundreds of members of the IZA network demanded that Falk not be appointed as the institute's head; otherwise, they would collectively withdraw from the network.[4][5]
In a broad sense, Falk's research is about obtaining a better empirical foundation of economic behavior. While the traditional economic model of individual behavior postulates perfect rationality and egoism (homo oeconomicus), the work of Falk demonstrates that human behavior is better described by bounded rationality. In addition, Falk shows that social preferences such as fairness and trust are important determinants of behavior.
The research of Falk can broadly be divided into two main areas, the analysis of economic preferences and psychological aspects of the labor market. A better understanding of preferences and personality is of great importance for economic and social science, as virtually every model in that area needs to make assumptions on individual behavior. A key focus has been the analysis of social preferences, as well risk and time preferences, but also personality. Supported by an ERC Starting Grant, Falk studies the distribution of preferences in the population as well as socioeconomic determinants of preferences.[6]
A second important focus of Falk's research has been the analysis of psychological aspects in labor markets (Behavioral Labor Economics). This line of research demonstrates that in particular in labor market contexts, motives such as social preferences, social comparison, trust, social approval, and intrinsic motivation play an important role. This has implications for work relations, as well as the functioning of organizations and labor markets.
