Environment

The European Green Deal will cause more harm than good

    By Mohamed Moutii, The Institute for Research in Economic and Fiscal Issues   In the last European elections, the so-called green parties won a record number of seats and became the fourth largest bloc in the European parliament. The Greens are now seen as pivotal political allies for passing EU legislation.   Not surprisingly, […]

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Lockdowns fueled digital democracy — and polarization — in Germany

“Online petitions as an indicator of current polarization tendencies” By Dr. Armin Mertens and Dr. Ruth Maria Schüler, courtesy of IW Koeln   The COVID-19 measures of the federal and state governments have massively affected public life in Germany. The ban on contact has temporarily restricted the freedom to pursue a profession, the freedom of trade, […]

EU

German economic recovery has begun

“Economic bottom has been overcome” Courtesy of RWI Essen     The RWI expects German economic growth to slow by 5.8 percent this year due to measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The economy is expected to grow by 6.4 percent in the coming year. The unemployment rate is expected to be 5.9 percent this […]

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Why German banking rules are different

“Banking regulation in the Euro Area: Germany is different” By Nicolas Véron, courtesy of the Bruegel Institute   Despite progress in recent years towards a single banking policy framework in the euro area – a banking union – much of the German banking system has remained partly sheltered from uniform rules and disciplines that now […]

Trade

Germany must ensure liquidity to deal with trade collapse

  “Corona crisis – liquidity takes priority” By Prof. Dr. Michael Grömling, Dr. Martin Beznoska, and Dr. Markus Demary, courtesy of IW Koeln   In China it became apparent how an epidemic can directly affect the production potential of an economy when large numbers of workers have to be quarantined. Through a variety of intermediate […]

Trade

U.S.-China trade deal will hurt Germany, Brazil — coronavirus is wildcard

    “New US-China trade agreement to hurt Germany and Brazil” IFW Kiel   German exporters will be particularly affected from the implementation of the Phase I trade agreement between the USA and China which has now come into force. As a result of trade diversion, Germany’s exports of goods to China are likely to […]

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German climate activists demand action, not words, in 2020

“The time for courageous climate policy is now!” By Charlotte Unger, courtesy of IASS   In 2019 the public debate on climate change shifted markedly, yet little was achieved in terms of concrete action. What developments can we hope to see in the year ahead?   Heralded as a year for action, 2019 turned out […]

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Ich muss, selbst ohne meinen fuss: Germans go to work sick in “presentism” plague

  “Sick to work? Presentism is widespread in Germany” Courtesy of IAB   In Germany, many employees go to work despite illness. This has to do with working conditions and fear of job loss. It therefore makes sense to work more towards appropriate health behavior.   Illness-related absence from work is a not insignificant problem for the […]

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Franco-German relationship needs a reboot

“Rebooting Franco-German cooperation” By Sophie Pornschlegel, courtesy of EPC The alliance between France and Germany has significantly deteriorated in 2019, with little to no hope for improvement in 2020. They have no one to blame but themselves: Germany has shown a lack of ambition and vision in European policy, while Macron made tactical errors with […]

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Around half a million German jobs depend on exports to UK

  “460,000 jobs in Germany are linked to exports to the United Kingdom” Courtesy of the IAB   Around 460,000 jobs in Germany are directly or indirectly linked to exports to the United Kingdom. Around 60,000 of these are employed in the automotive industry. This emerges from a study published on Tuesday by the Institute for Labor […]