Teaching
Prof. Dr. Wüstrich teaches the compulsory module "Fundamentals of Economics and Economic Policy" in the B.A. programme Management and Media. He also offers elective modules on European economic integration and money, credit and currency in the B.A. programme, and elective modules on public finances in democracy (Public Choice) and applied economic policy (Applied Economics) in the M.A. programme.
As chairman of the examination board of the department and the examination board of the Bundeswehr University Munich of Economics and Business Administration, Prof. Dr. Wüstrich is the contact person for all legal examination topics.
Research
The main focus of Prof. Dr. Wüstrich's scientific work is on welfare state research with special emphasis on socio-political issues. Of particular interest are regulatory economics of social security systems, especially in the field of statutory health insurance.
Furthermore, the functionality of welfare state regimes is in the focus of the research interest. In this context, a conscious counterpoint to the thesis that only economies with a recognizably low welfare state level are successful in coping with globalization economic challenges is to be set. Despite a recognizable and inevitable need for reform as a consequence of technological progress, demographic change, and the changing role of the individual in postmodernism and post-materialism, welfare state systems are in principle functional for the competitiveness of an economy. It is not the one-sided emphasis on the costs of such systems that is the focus of attention. Rather, the aim is to accentuate the often difficult to quantify but nevertheless existing and also measurable benefits for the state, market economy and democracy.
