Professor of Economics at University of Duisburg-Essen. Member of the Federal Board of the Socialdemocratic Party of Germany (SPD). Chairman of the Economic Advisory Board at Federal Board of the SPD. Until 2019 Founding Director of the IMK Institute of the Hans Böckler Foundation, Düsseldorf. Non resident Research Fellow of the EU- Commission in 2016. Economic Adviser of the S&D Group in the European Parliament. Advisor to the Monetary Committee of the European Parliament 2001-2009. Chairman of Committee on Social Order to the Protestant Church in German from 2010 to 2015 and member until 2020.Studies of Economics at the University of Bonn and the London School of Economics (LSE).