01.11.2019 • 23/2019
Presseeinladung zur Verleihung des Max-Planck-Humboldt-Forschungspreises und der Max-Planck-Humboldt-Medaille 2019 in Berlin, Akademie der Künste, 5. November 2019 um 17:00 Uhr mit anschließendem Empfang
Zum zweiten Mal wird der neugestaltete Max-Planck-Humboldt-Forschungspreis von der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft und der Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung in Berlin verliehen. Der diesjährige Träger des Preises ist Ufuk Akcigit von der Universität Chicago mit dem Thema: Warum besteht zwischen Ost- und Westdeutschland weiterhin eine wirtschaftliche Kluft?
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02.10.2019 • 21/2019
Thanks to robust domestic demand, the impact of the manufacturing sector on East Germany is less severe than in the west – Implications of the Autumn 2019 Joint Economic Forecast and official regional data for the eastern German economy
In its autumn report, the Joint Economic Forecast Project Group states that the German economy has cooled further in the current year. The manufacturing sector is the main reason for the economic weakness. This affects the economy in East Germany as well.
Oliver Holtemöller
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19.09.2019 • 19/2019
Long-term effects of privatisation in eastern Germany: award-winning US economist begins large-scale research project at the IWH
It is one of the most prestigious awards in the German scientific community: the Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award 2019 endowed with €1.5 million goes to Ufuk Akcigit, Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. At the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), Akcigit aims to use innovative methods to investigate why the economy in eastern Germany is still lagging behind that in western Germany – and what role the privatisation process 30 years ago played in this.
Reint E. Gropp
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05.09.2019 • 18/2019
Downturn in Germany continues
Trade disputes are causing international trade in goods to decline this year. The manufacturing industry in Germany is particularly affected by this. However, a robust labour market is supporting the economy. According to IWH autumn economic forecast, German gross domestic product (GDP) will increase by 0.5% in 2019. At 1%, output growth in East Germany is likely to be significantly higher than in West Germany.
Oliver Holtemöller
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East Germany Three Decades After the Wall Came Down: What has Been Achieved and What Should Economic Policy Do?
Reint E. Gropp, Gerhard Heimpold
Wirtschaftsdienst,
forthcoming
Abstract
The persistent difference in productivity between East and West Germany not only results from the relative absence of large firms based in the East as many believe. Companies of all sizes exhibit an East-West productivity gap. The gap is larger in urban regions. Scarcity of skilled labour has emerged as the new barrier to business development. In order to boost productivity, economic policy should avoid additional subsidies that are conditional on creating jobs. Additionally, the potential of East German urban areas should be better explored. Mitigating the shortage in qualified workers requires in-migration of skilled labour from abroad, supported by an open mindset and environment.
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Aktuelle Trends: Durchschnittsalter der Bevölkerung: Deutliches Ost-West-Gefälle
Hans-Ulrich Brautzsch
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 1,
2019
Abstract
Das Durchschnittsalter der Bevölkerung[1] hat in Deutschland kontinuierlich zugenommen. In Ostdeutschland ist es zwischen Ende 1990 und Ende 2017 von 37,9 auf 46,3 Jahre gestiegen.[2] In Westdeutschland nahm das Durchschnittsalter von 39,6 auf 44,1 Jahre zu. Die Zunahme des Durchschnittsalters war damit in Westdeutschland mit 4,5 Jahren nur etwa halb so hoch wie in Ostdeutschland (8,4 Jahre). Beeinflusst wurde diese Entwicklung in Ostdeutschland durch das hohe Geburtendefizit sowie die Wanderungsverluste.
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04.04.2019 • 10/2019
Service providers in Berlin give boost to East German economy – implications of the Joint Economic Forecast and of official data on the East German economy in 2018
In its spring report, the Joint Economic Forecast group states that the upturn in Germany came to an end in the second half of 2018, mainly because the manufacturing sector is weakening due to a slowing international economy and to problems in the automotive industry. Accordingly, in places such as Saxony (1.2%), Thuringia (0.5%), and Saxony-Anhalt (0.9%), where manufacturing plays a particularly important role, gross domestic product (GDP) grew less than in Germany as a whole (1.4%).
Oliver Holtemöller
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(Since When) Are East and West German Business Cycles Synchronised?
Stefan Gießler, Katja Heinisch, Oliver Holtemöller
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 7,
2019
Abstract
This paper analyses whether and since when East and West German business cycles are synchronised. We investigate real GDP, unemployment rates and survey data as business cycle indicators and employ several empirical methods. Overall, we find that the regional business cycles have synchronised over time. GDP-based indicators and survey data show a higher degree of synchronisation than the indicators based on unemployment rates. However, recently synchronisation among East and West German business cycles seems to become weaker, in line with international evidence.
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04.03.2019 • 6/2019
New IWH publication takes stock: “United country – three decades after the Wall came down”
How is Germany’s economy faring 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall? A new publication by the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) uses illustrative maps and graphs to show how the Federal Republic has developed compared to other countries and how economic unification has progressed. The publication presents many new findings, including on productivity differences between east and west, urban and rural development, as well as the availability of skilled labour.
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United country – three decades after the Wall came down
One-off Publications,
2019
Abstract
The Berlin Wall, once the symbol of the divided Germany, has now been gone for longer than it ever existed. But the differences within the country are still visible. However, recent research suggests that different economic development does not always follow the former inner-German border. Apart from the west-east divide, differences also emerge between the south and the north or between the cities and the country.
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