SIAW-HSG | Universität St. Gallen

What SIAW-HSG | Universität St. Gallen does

SIAW-HSG (Schweizerisches Institut für Aussenwirtschaft und Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung) is an academic research institute housed within the public University of St. Gallen (Universität St. Gallen) in Switzerland. Founded in 1943, the institute focuses on international economic relations, trade policy, monetary economics, public finance, development economics, and financial stability. Its core outputs include the peer-reviewed journal Aussenwirtschaft — published for over 50 years — as well as policy briefs on current economic issues (e.g., the '10-Millionen-Schweiz' initiative, global trade bottlenecks), the Econville educational model, the DataSight data-visualization tool, and the HSG Research Insight podcast. The institute's faculty comprises Full, Associate, and Assistant Professors, postdocs, and doctoral researchers; the leadership was restructured in 2024 with Johannes Binswanger as Geschäftsleitender Direktor and Anastasia Kartasheva as Director. It serves academic peers, policymakers, government bodies, doctoral/graduate students, and executive learners engaged through workshops and conferences.

The institute operates under a non-commercial academic business model rather than a commercial product model. Funding is sourced from institutional base funding from the University of St. Gallen, competitive research grants (notably from the Swiss National Science Foundation, including the SNSF Starting Grant 2025-2029 'DEBTANDGROWTH'), and revenue from executive education programs such as EMBA courses, KMU-Diploma programs, and custom corporate training, which are bundled into the university's continuing-education portfolio. There is no commercial product pricing; the institute does not sell subscriptions or licenses to commercial customers.

SIAW-HSG distributes its research through academic journal subscriptions, public lectures, media engagement, an annual workshop, and strategic partnerships with the Global Center for International Economics (GCIE), the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) for the Global Trade Alert initiative, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Swiss Finance Institute (SFI), and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Go-to-market motion is best characterized as community-led: dissemination to the academic and policy community through peer-reviewed publication, workshops, policy briefs, and podcasts rather than commercial sales.

Name

SIAW-HSG | Universität St. Gallen

Legal name

Schweizerisches Institut für Aussenwirtschaft und Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (SIAW-HSG)

Website

https://siaw.unisg.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1943

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SIAW-HSG is the Swiss Institute for International Economics and Applied Economic Research at the University of St. Gallen, conducting academic research in international trade, macroeconomics, and financial stability, and serving policymakers, scholars, doctoral students, and executive learners via journal publications, policy briefs, and educational tools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Gallen

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. University Base Funding: Core institutional funding from University of St. Gallen as part of the university's academic structure
2. Research Grants: External research funding from Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), including projects such as SNSF Starting Grant 2025-2029 'DEBTANDGROWTH' and SNF projects on redistribution instruments
3. Executive Education: Revenue from executive education programs including EMBA courses, KMU-Diploma programs, and custom corporate training programs

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SIAW-HSG is a non-profit academic research institute at the University of St. Gallen that conducts and disseminates applied economic research on international economic relations, trade, and economic policy. Its deliverables include the peer-reviewed Aussenwirtschaft journal, Policy Briefs on current economic issues, educational tools (Econville and DataSight), the HSG Research Insight podcast, and executive education programs, all serving academic researchers, policymakers, students, and corporate learners.

Product overview

SIAW-HSG is an academic research institute at the University of St. Gallen, not a commercial product company. Its offerings consist of academic research outputs and educational tools rather than a unified product platform. The institute publishes the Aussenwirtschaft journal (a leading Swiss Review of International Economic Relations published for over 50 years), produces Policy Briefs on current economic policy issues, and has developed educational tools including Econville (a fictional economic model for teaching) and Data Sight (a data visualization tool). The institute also produces the HSG Research Insight podcast series featuring economic research discussions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Aussenwirtschaft: The institute publishes the journal 'Aussenwirtschaft' (The Swiss Review of International Economic Relations), providing academic analyses for academic thinkers and policymakers.

Products and services

• Aussenwirtschaft Journal The institute's flagship peer-reviewed academic journal providing analyses of the world economy and international economic relations for academic thinkers and policymakers; published for over 50 years.
• Policy Briefs Short-form policy publications addressing current economic issues, including briefs on the '10-Million Switzerland' initiative and global trade bottlenecks, targeted at policymakers and the general public.
• Econville A fictional economic model village developed by Prof. Johannes Binswanger and Dr. Carolin Güssow to teach economic relationships, monetary system development, and monetary policy concepts to students and the public.
• DataSight A data visualization tool developed by the institute for visualizing economic data and their relationships, supporting data analysis accessibility for researchers and students.
• HSG Research Insight Podcast Podcast series featuring faculty discussing economic research topics for broader public engagement, including episodes on modern monetary economy and Econville.
• Executive Education Programs Executive education programs offered as part of the University of St. Gallen's continuing education portfolio, including EMBA courses, KMU-Diploma programs, and custom corporate training programs, targeted at corporate executives and graduate-level learners.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Bank for International Settlements (BIS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 November 2025Collaborative research workshop on financial stability risks in the insurance industry, hosted at BIS headquarters in Basel; involves SIAW-HSG faculty Anastasia Kartasheva and Swiss Finance Institute
• Global Center for International Economics (GCIE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative center focused on international economics research, co-located and integrated with SIAW-HSG activities at the University of St. Gallen
• Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoordinates the Global Trade Alert initiative, providing timely reporting on potentially discriminatory state measures since November 2008; Simon Evenett leads the initiative
• Swiss Finance Institute (SFI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for finance research, with SIAW-HSG faculty members holding SFI affiliations
• Wharton School, University of PennsylvaniamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic exchange and collaboration; Anastasia Kartasheva serves as Senior Fellow in the Harris Family Alternative Investments Program at Wharton

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Brookings Institution: Brookings is a major US think tank producing economic and policy research with global influence. Comparable as a long-established policy-oriented economic research institution, though much larger in scale.
• National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER): NBER is the leading US economic research organization. SIAW-HSG faculty (Mündler is NBER Research Associate) actively participate, indicating comparable applied economic research positioning.
• Swiss National Bank (SNB): SNB conducts economic research on Swiss and international monetary policy. SIAW-HSG faculty research on monetary policy (Wolf's DEBTANDGROWTH) and monetary systems (Binswanger's Econville) directly intersects with SNB's research domain.

Direct peers

• DIW Berlin: DIW Berlin is a leading German economic research institute producing applied economic analysis and policy advice. Comparable in scale, academic orientation, and applied economic research focus.
• Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS): IFS is a leading UK economic research institute focused on fiscal policy and public economics. Comparable as a European academic economic research institute with strong policy orientation.
• KOF Swiss Economic Institute: KOF is the leading Swiss economic research institute at ETH Zurich, publishing the KOF Economic Barometer and similar policy-relevant applied economic research. Directly comparable as a Swiss academic economic research institute.
• Centre for Economic Performance (CEP), LSE: CEP at LSE conducts research on economic performance, labor markets, and trade. Comparable as a European academic economic policy research center with strong applied orientation.
• ifo Institute: ifo Institute is a major German economic research institute publishing the ifo Business Climate Index and applied economic research. SIAW-HSG faculty (e.g., Mündler) hold ifo affiliations, indicating close research overlap in international economics.
• CEPR (Centre for Economic Policy Research): CEPR coordinates the Global Trade Alert initiative led from SIAW-HSG and hosts a network of European economic policy researchers. Directly comparable as a European economic policy research network.
• CESifo: CESifo is a Munich-based research network with strong ties to ifo and the University of Munich, conducting applied economic research. Multiple SIAW-HSG faculty (Hodler, Sachs) hold CESifo affiliations, indicating direct research overlap.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/siaw-hsg-universit%C3%A4t-st-gallen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SIAW-HSG | Universität St. Gallen