09.06.2016 • 22/2016
The German Economy Benefits from Strong Domestic Demand
In 2016, the moderate upswing of the German economy continues. Incomes grow due to the steady expansion in employment, and the fall in energy prices has propped up the purchasing power of private households. As a consequence, private consumption expands healthily; investment in housing is additionally stimulated by very low interest rates. Exports, however, expand only moderately, as the world economy is rather weak. All in all, the IWH forecasts the German GDP to expand by 1.8% in this year and by 1.6% in 2017.
Oliver Holtemöller
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Upturn Remains Moderate — Economic Policy Lacks Growth Orientation
Roland Döhrn, Ferdinand Fichtner, Oliver Holtemöller, Timo Wollmershäuser
Wirtschaftsdienst,
No. 5,
2016
Abstract
The German economy is experiencing a moderate upturn. Gross domestic product is expected to increase by 1.6 per cent this year and by 1.5 per cent in 2017. The upturn will be driven by private consumption, which will benefit from continued employment growth, sizeable increases in wage and transfer income, and also purchasing power gains thanks to lower energy prices. Fiscal policy will also be expansively oriented, partly due to rising costs related to refugee immigration. Public budgets will still post significant surpluses in the forecasting period, however. Failing to use this room for manoeuvre to promote growth, as seen in recent years, is not a sustainable path. In view of the continuous slack in the euro area economy, the monetary policy stance is considered to be appropriate. Should it become obvious in the course of this year that production does not return to normal capacity and that the inflation rate does not move towards two per cent, further measures to stimulate growth might become necessary. The scope for further monetary policy measures has been widely exhausted, though. A further economic stabilization could only be achieved through a combination of expansionary fiscal and monetary policy. This could severely damage the credibility of monetary policy, however.
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14.04.2016 • 15/2016
Joint Economic Forecast Spring 2016: Upturn Remains Moderate – Economic Policy Lacks Growth Orientation
Economic research institutes now estimate that gross domestic product will increase by 1.6 percent in 2016, instead of 1.8 percent as forecast in autumn 2015.
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16.03.2016 • 10/2016
German Economy Stays Stable Despite Shaky Environment
The German economy had a good start into the year 2016, in spite of heightened risks for the world economy and political turmoil in Europe. Employment and incomes are expanding, as is internal de-mand, additionally supported by government spending related to the high number of newly arrived refugees. However, sliding sentiment indicates a temporary slow down of the economy during this spring. We assume that the present political tensions inside the European Union can be mitigated in the coming months and that confidence will rise again. All in all, gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to rise by 1.5% in 2016.
Oliver Holtemöller
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Zur räumlichen Verteilung von Flüchtlingen im Föderalstaat
Oliver Holtemöller, Matthias Wieschemeyer
ifo Schnelldienst 04/2016,
No. 4,
2016
Abstract
The current refugee crisis is creating a huge challenge for the European Union. Germany in particular is currently experiencing a flood of people, who are seeking safety and economic prospects. These individuals include a growing number of refugees: an estimated one million refugees came to Germany in 2015. And the flow of refugees continues. Can Germany’s economy capitalise on the opportunities offered by immigration? What are the costs of integration? These questions are discussed by the presidents of Germany’s leading economic research institutes, as well as other migration experts.
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Refugee Migration – A Global Humanitarian Crisis Reaches Germany
Policy Brief Nr. 01/2015,
No. 1,
2015
Abstract
In this Policy Brief, the issue of current refugee migration to Europe will be discussed from various perspectives and literature on this topic from the participating institutes will be put into context. The current situation bears characteristics of a crisis. On the one hand this is due to the high numbers of refugees. On the other hand, there are fundamental problems with the existing asylum system in Europe, meaning that it is unable to handle the situation effectively – even though the problem itself is not new. The integration of incoming people into society and the labour market has linguistic, qualification-related, cultural and political dimensions.
In the Leibniz Research Alliance 'Crises in a Globalised World', 23 Leibniz institutes are working together in an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary manner to enhance understanding of the mechanisms and dynamics of crises and their mutual interdependencies.
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16.12.2015 • 45/2015
German Economy: Strong domestic demand compensates for weak exports
The upturn of the German economy is expected to gain further momentum as a consequence of strong domestic demand. Real gross domestic product is expected to increase by 1.6% in 2016. Consumer prices are expected to rise by 0.9%. Unemployment is expected to rise slightly because it will take time to integrate refugees into the labour market.
Oliver Holtemöller
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03.12.2015 • 44/2015
Migration Affects Labour Market in Eastern Germany
Migration increasingly affects the labour market in Eastern Germany, having effects on employment and unemployment figures as well as the number of recipients of social assistance benefits under the SGB II regulations. Particularly with countries in Middle and Eastern Europe, countries affected by the European debt and confidence crisis and with people seeking asylum, there are large increases meeting the dimensions in Western Germany. However, migrants overall still form a significantly smaller percentage of the population and other labour market parameters in Eastern Germany, since migration was a lot stronger in Western Germany during the last decades. While on the short run negative effects on unemployment have to be expected, there are also chances, in the medium- and long-term, to soften the expectable demographic problems, if integration and qualification are supported.
Oliver Holtemöller
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Joint Forecast: Migration of Refugees will Challenge Economic Policy
Roland Döhrn, Ferdinand Fichtner, Oliver Holtemöller, Timo Wollmershäuser
Wirtschaftsdienst,
No. 10,
2015
Abstract
According to the Autumn 2015 Joint Forecast German GDP will grow by 1.8% in this year and in the next year also. Thus the business cycle upswing will continue to be moderate. Lower growth in the emerging markets will show a dampening effect on exports whereas private consumption will gain momentum, given a strong labor market and an increase in real wages. However, new workers are increasingly recruited from the non-active population and among immigrants, leaving unemployment more or less unchanged. In the next year, the huge current inflow of refugees will increasingly influence the number of unemployed. For economic policy the challenge is to integrate refugees into the labour market as soon as possible.
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