Fritz W. Scharpf

Fritz W. Scharpf (born 12 February 1935 in Schwäbisch Hall) is a German professor and Emeritus Director of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies. His areas of interest include; the organisational problems and decision processes in governments at all levels; the political economy of inflation and unemployment; comparative political economy of the welfare state.

In 2000, Scharpf was awarded the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science.

Other awards

 * 2008 Honorary doctorate of the European University Institute in Florence, Italy
 * 2007 Science Prize of the Stifterverband
 * 2007  Lifetime Contribution Award in EU Studies from the European Union Studies Association
 * 2004  Bielefeld Science Award, (with Renate Mayntz)
 * 2004  Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
 * 2003  Honorary Doctorate, Humboldt University Berlin

Publications
Scharpf is an author of several books and his articles have appeared in numerous journals.

In a 1988 scholarly article,, he identified a situation labelled joint decision trap, in which there is a tendency for government decisions to be taken at the lowest common denominator in situations where the decision-makers have the ability to veto the proposals. It is common challenge for federal governments, such as Germany, and the European Union.