The invention relates to a method for producing esters from alcohols and olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acids by reacting an alcohol with an olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acid or a reactive derivative thereof, in the presence of between 1 ppm and 1 wt. % of at least one oxazoline of formula 1, in relation to the weight of the reaction mixture of alcohol and olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acid/carboxylic acid derivative, R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 representing hydrogen or branched, linear, cyclical, saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon radicals containing up to 25 C atoms that can be substituted by heteroatoms, and R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 being the same or different.