Almost every day during that time, we went to lunch together in the no-frills university canteen. This was the time to discuss progress in our academic endeavours. But Manfred also had us apply our theoretical economic knowledge to practical topical issues and political questions. In fact, to him, such applications were not just brainteasers or amusing thought experiments.
Rather, economic thinking and research had to be both rigorous and of practical relevance. 1/7  BIS central bankers' speeches  Drawing on both his impressive academic expertise and his excellent economic intuition, in the 1990s he repeatedly and prominently intervened in the public discussions surrounding the creation of the monetary union.