11.12.2025 • 34/2025
Slight upturn on the horizon, structural problems remain
As the year draws to a close, it remains uncertain whether the German economy is on a path to recovery, as export weakness persisted through the autumn. Nevertheless, a slight upturn is forecast for 2026, supported by fiscal stimulus and rising real incomes. According to the winter forecast of the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), output is projected to grow by 1.0% in 2026, after an increase of just 0.2% in 2025. In September, the IWH economists had predicted growth of 0.8% for 2026 and 0.2% for the current year. According to this forecast, the pace of expansion in East Germany is expected to be slightly slower, mainly due to demographic factors.
Oliver Holtemöller
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Management Opposition, Strikes and Union Threat
Patrick Nüß
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 17,
2025
Abstract
I estimate management opposition to unions in terms of hiring discrimination in the German labor market. By sending 13,000 fictitious job applications, revealing union membership in the CV and pro-union sentiment via social media accounts, I provide evidence for hiring discrimination against union supporters. Callback rates are on average 15% lower for union members. Discrimination is strongest in the presence of a high sectoral share of union members and large firm size. I further explore variation in regional and sectoral strike intensity over time and find suggestive evidence that discrimination increases if a sector is exposed to an intense strike. Discrimination is positively associated with the sectoral share of firms that voluntarily orientate wages to collective agreements. These results indicate that hiring discrimination can be explained by union threat effects.
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Climate Change Economics in Vietnam: Redefining Economic Impact
Christian Otto, Christoph Schult, Thomas Vogt
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 15,
2025
Abstract
Vietnam, a lower-middle-income economy, faces severe climate risks from heat waves, sea-level rise, and tropical cyclones, which are expected to intensify under ongoing global warming. Using a dynamic general equilibrium model, we analyze economic transition dynamics from 2015 to 2100, incorporating heat-induced labor productivity losses, agricultural land loss, and cyclone-related property damage. We compare a Paris-compatible scenario limiting warming to below 2 °C with a high-emission scenario reaching 4–5 °C. While output and investment impacts remain highly uncertain and statistically indistinguishable across scenarios until 2100, consumption losses are significantly larger under high emissions, mainly driven by heat-related productivity declines, with cyclones contributing most to uncertainty. These findings underscore the importance of considering multiple impact channels beyond output damages in climate-development research.
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04.09.2025 • 26/2025
Recovery on shaky ground – tariffs dampen growth, but a change in fiscal policy is on the way
In late summer 2025, it is still unclear whether the German economy is on the road to recovery, as it has to cope with the dampening effect of higher US tariffs in the second half of the year. It is not until 2026 that fiscal policy stimulus measures, combined with low key interest rates, will probably lead to an economic upturn. According to the autumn forecast of the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), production is then expected to increase by 0.8%, following 0.2% in 2025. Similar rates of expansion are also expected for East Germany. In June, the IWH economists were forecasting growth of 1.1% for 2026 and 0.4% for the current year.
Oliver Holtemöller
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12.06.2025 • 19/2025
Economic recovery in Germany – but structural problems and US trade policy weigh on the economy
The German economy has picked up somewhat in the first half of 2025. This was helped by the temporary increase in demand from the US in anticipation of higher tariffs. If the US does not escalate its trade conflicts further, production in Germany according to the summer forecast of the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) is likely to increase a bit (by 0.4%) in 2025, after two years of decline. In March, the IWH economists were forecasting growth of 0.1% for the current year. Growth of 1.1% is forecast for the year 2026. Similar expansion rates are to be expected for East Germany.
Oliver Holtemöller
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21.05.2025 • 17/2025
Uncertainty Holds Back European Economy ‒ Report by AIECE, a Network of European Economic Research Institutes
The AIECE Association of European Economic Research Institutes has today published its bi-annual General Report, following the Spring 2025 Meeting held in Oslo hosted by Statistics Norway. The Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) is a long-time member of this network and regularly contributes its economic expertise to the joint analyses and forecasts. On average, AIECE member institutes forecast EU GDP to grow by of 1.2% in 2025 and 1.5% in 2026. The average forecast for Euro Area GDP growth is 1.0% and 1.3%. These forecasts are a bit more optimistic than those presented in the OECD's March 2025 Interim Report and the IMF's Spring 2025 World Economic Outlook.
Axel Lindner
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10.04.2025 • 14/2025
In East Germany, as in the west, the economy is in crisis - Implications of the Joint Economic Forecast Spring 2025 and new data for the East German economy
In 2024, the economy in East Germany shrank by 0.1% and in Germany as a whole by 0.2%. The Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) expects stagnation for East Germany in 2025 and growth of 1.1% in 2026. According to the IWH forecast, the unemployment rate is expected to be 7.8% in both 2025 and 2026, after 7.5% in 2024.
Oliver Holtemöller
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13.03.2025 • 10/2025
A turning point for the German economy?
The international political environment has fundamentally changed with looming trade wars and a deteriorating security situation in Europe. The leading parties in Germany are setting the stage for debt-financed additional defence tasks with far-reaching changes to the debt brake. This entails major risks for the German economy, but also opportunities. Meanwhile, the economy continues to be in a downturn. According to the spring forecast of the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025 is likely to be roughly the same as in the previous year, and it will not increase significantly until 2026, partly because uncertainty about German economic policy is likely to decrease after the new government is established, meaning that the savings rate of private households will fall again somewhat and the debt-financed additional government spending will gradually have an impact on demand. The IWH economists are forecasting an increase in GDP of 0.1% for 2025. In December, they were still forecasting growth of 0.4% for 2025. The outlook is similar for East Germany, where production is likely to have increased slightly in 2024, unlike in Germany as a whole.
Oliver Holtemöller
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Media Response
Media Response January 2026 Oliver Holtemöller: Wirtschaftskrise - Warum ein Industriestrompreis nicht hilft (Bericht des ARD-Magazins "Plusminus" ab Min 18:38, mit O-Ton von…
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Alumni
IWH Alumni The IWH maintains contact with its former employees worldwide. We involve our alumni in our work and keep them informed, for example, with a newsletter. We also plan…
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