Hans-Werner Sinn is the most frequently quoted economic expert in Germany. During his time as President of the ifo Institute, it became one of the leading German economic research institutes. He has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Federal Ministry of Economics since 1989. Over the course of his career, Hans-Werner Sinn has been honored with numerous awards. His awards include the Financial Times Deutschland Business Book Prize, the Cross of Merit 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Prize of Maastricht University. He was named University Teacher of the Year in 2015. He holds honorary doctorates from the University of Magdeburg, the University of Helsinki and the HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management.