DIW Economic Bulletin

German-Chinese Economic Relations: Opportunities and Risks

Economic relations between Germany and China have developed exceptionally well over the past few decades. China has grown to become one of Germany's key trading partners and may even become the second-largest trading partner after France in the coming year. And yet China's focus is increasingly shifting towards capital goods manufacturing, meaning Chinese enterprises will be competing with German enterprises ...

Self-Employment in Germany: The Trend Has Been Increasing for Some Time

Entrepreneurial self-employment in Germany has undergone a strong upturn in the last 20 years. The number of self-employed people rose by 40 percent between 1991 and 2009. The reasons for this development are the catch-up processes in eastern Germany, structural change towards the service sector, and a strong willingness among the highly skilled, the unmarried and among foreigners to enter self-employment. ...

There Is Virtually No Export Base: Six Questions to Karl Brenke

Greek Economy Needs Growth Strategy

Greece has been living beyond its means for a long time now and has accumulated foreign debt. The high level of national debt is merely a reflection of the problems; the actual cause is insufficient economic power. The top-priority political objective is to strengthen the substance of the economy-in particular, the export base-to such an extent that in future, the balance of payments is at least equalized. ...

Ganzes Heft

Extent and Effects of Employees in Germany Forgoing Vacation Time

Around 37 percent of those in paid full-time employment in Germany did not claim their full vacation entitlement last year. The number of vacation days actually taken by each employee was on average three days less than the full entitlement. This equates to around twelve percent of the overall volume of vacation entitlement not being used. This figure is corroborated by data from the German Socio-Economic ...

Add-On Premiums Increase Price Transparency: More Policy Holders Switch Health Plans

The German health care reform implemented in 2009 led to a considerable increase in price transparency within the statutory health insurance (SHI) (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung, GKV) system and also made it more consumer-friendly which, in turn, has encouraged policy holders to react to price hikes by switching to a different health insurance fund ("sickness fund"). In 2009, the government established ...

Poor Products at the Expense of Pension Policy Holders: Six Questions to Kornelia Hagen

Ten Years of the Riester Pension Scheme: No Reason to Celebrate

Since their introduction, the Riester pension scheme and the individual Riester products have become less beneficial to savers. Contracts concluded today will often lead to lower returns compared to contracts concluded in 2001. From a social perspective, meaning pension benefits in relation to individual saving contributions plus state subsidy, overall returns on all insurance-based products are very ...

Ganzes Heft

German Industry - a Tower of Strength?

By the summer of 2011, Germany industry was back at levels last achieved before the economic crisis, thanks to continuous growth in production since early 2009. The recovery was driven by strong domestic and foreign demand for German capital and intermediate goods. However, the Ifo Business Climate Index, which has contracted since July 2011, and fewer orders suggest that industrial production will ...

We Need Clarity on Financing Conditions: Five Questions to Hendrik Hagedorn

Germany's Construction Industry: Strong Growth Followed by Stagnation

2011 was one of the construction industry's strongest years of growth since German reunification. For the year as a whole, a nominal increase in construction volume of almost eight percent is expected. The price increase is forecast at over 2.5 percent. Real construction volume in 2011 will be over five percent higher than in 2010. However, according to current information, we can expect the construction ...

Ganzes Heft

Social and Economic Characteristics of Financial and Blood Donors in Germany

Surveys of the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) have shown that Germans donated around 5.3 billion euros in 2009- right in the middle of the financial and economic crisis. The type and amount of donations made is well documented in Germany. However, until recently, there was very little information available on the identity of Germans who share their income with people in need. A new survey ...

Ongoing Change in the Structure of Part-Time Employment

The prominence of part-time employment has dramatically increased both in Germany and across Europe. Germany has experienced above- average growth and currently the prevalence of part-time employment there also exceeds the EU average. Evidently, this involves fundamental structural change as part-time employment has increased regardless of economic trends. Although part-time positions often still entail ...

After the Crisis Is before the Crisis: Six Questions to Georg Erber

Securitizations Are Dead - Long Live Securitizations?

After the financial markets slumped worldwide in 2008, securitizations were seen as a major cause of the conflagration. The securitization market dried up because this financial instrument was no longer trusted. At the time, no one thought securitizations had any future as a financial innovation. However, just three years after the financial meltdown, the securitization market in the US has made a ...

Ganzes Heft

Child Care Choices in Western Germany Also Correlated with Mother's Personality

The expansion of formal child care, particularly for children under the age of three, has resulted in more and more children from this age group attending day care facilities. This formal child care setting is frequently combined with care provided by grandparents or other individuals. The combination and number of child care settings made use of is influenced by a variety of socio-economic factors ...