Founded in 1926, the RWI maintains a non-profit status, mainly funded through public means while also receiving third-party-fundings.

The RWI currently employs 120 people and is part of the Leibniz Association, a group of non-university research institutes in Germany.

The current head of the RWI is Christoph M. Schmidt, a German economist and professor for economic policy and applied econometrics at Ruhr-Universität Bochum.

[1] The Essen branch sought to observe economic patterns and trends in the Rhine-Westphalian industrial region.

Founded in 2004, the RGS Econ collaborates with universities in Bochum, Dortmund, and Duisburg-Essen to provide scholars the opportunity to conduct economic research.