DIW Weekly Report

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From Iran to Russia to Hong Kong: Geopolitical Risks Are Weighing on the German Economy

Over the past years, there has been an increase in global geopolitical risk, the most recent example being the intensifying conflict between the USA and Iran. Such geopolitical risks also affect the German economy. A geopolitical shock, defined as an unexpected increase in risk, has a significantly negative effect on the development of the German economy, and stock prices fall. By comparison, German ...

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More Women on Supervisory Boards: Increasing Indications that the Effect of the Gender Quota Extends to Executive Boards

The statutory gender quota for supervisory boards is effective: the proportion of women on supervisory boards has increased over the past years, especially in the companies subject to the quota. But is the quota creating trickle-down effects for executive boards? As the second part of the DIW Berlin Women Executives Barometer, this report analyzes whether a relationship between the growth of the proportion ...

Proportion of Women on Top-Decision Making Bodies of Large Companies Increasing, Except on Supervisory Boards in the Financial Sector

The share of women on executive boards of large companies in Germany has increased somewhat more strongly than in previous years. The top 200 companies reached the ten percent mark for the first time: women held 14 more board positions than in the previous year, 94 out of 907. Growth was also somewhat more dynamic on the executive boards of the largest listed companies and companies with government- ...

Boards of Major German Companies Are Gradually Changing: Editorial

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Financial Stability: New, Detailed Datasets Allow for Innovation of Stress Tests

The 2008-2010 crisis has shown that authorities were missing crucial information necessary to identify risks to the financial system in an accurate and timely manner. To be prepared for future crises, a range of legislation in Europe and beyond was passed. The scope and depth of information being reported from across the financial system, including previously disregarded segments, have thus significantly ...

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Construction Industry an Important Pillar of the Economy: Investment Assistance Taking Effect

The construction industry is increasingly becoming a key pillar of the business cycle in Germany. DIW Berlin’s construction volume calculation indicates a real expansion of construction services by around three percent each year over the next two years. In nominal terms, sales in the construction industry and its related sectors will grow by around 6.5 percent in 2020 and almost six percent in 2021. ...

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Green Public Procurement: Climate Provisions in Public Tenders Can Help Reduce German Carbon Emissions

This report estimates that government consumption and investment are responsible for at least 12 percent of German greenhouse gas emissions, mostly arising from the provision of public services and construction. Climate-friendly Green Public Procurement (GPP), which takes into account the carbon footprint of products and services in public tenders, can help reduce these emissions. Construction, and ...

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German Economy: Industry Struggles to Shake of the Crisis: DIW Economic Outlook

The German economy remains weak as of the fourth quarter of 2019. However, although industrial production is continuing its downward trend, there are signs of a slow recovery. The manufacturing sector is likely to expand production gradually beginning in 2020; therefore, it is less likely the recession in the industry will affect the service sector and construction industry. These sectors are profiting ...

Global Economy Continues to Suffer Weak Growth Momentum: DIW Economic Outlook

Favorable labor market conditions and the resulting increase in private consumption are still sustaining the global economy. Trade disputes and political uncertainties, however, continue to slow investment activity, with the result that economic growth will only be moderate particularly in advanced economies. By contrast, growth is accelerating in emerging markets, especially in India. Global economic ...

Strengthen the Foundation of the German Economy: Editorial

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100 Years of the Modern German Tax System: Foundation, Reforms, and Challenges

The tax and fiscal reforms headed by German finance minister Matthias Erzberger in 1919 and 1920 fundamentally reshaped German public finances. The total tax revenue as a percentage of GDP, or tax-to-GDP ratio, doubled and increased continually until the end of World War II. Since the 1950s, the tax-to-GDP ratio has remained between 22 and 24 percent of GDP most of the time. West Germany’s economic ...

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A Comparison of Earnings Justice throughout Europe: Widespread Approval in Germany for Income Distribution According to Need and Equity

The present study compares the perceptions of fairness of national earned incomes between the populations of Germany and the rest of Europe based on recent data from the European Social Survey (ESS). The vast majority of European respondents consider very low gross earned incomes to be unjustly low. By contrast, very high incomes are less frequently considered too high in Germany than they are in the ...