The ECB has reached a historic turning point and will now end its QE program. So far, the ECB has been very successful in engineering the monetary policy reversal without triggering financial market volatility. This week’s decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in favor of the ECB and ... more

According to DIW Berlin estimations, the German economy will continue to grow noticeably over the next two years. However, the economic boom is over as economic momentum is likely to cool off. DIW Berlin thus confirms its estimations from the late summer that the growth rate of the German economy is ... more

By Dominik Meyland and Dorothea Schäfer The current banking regulatory framework assigns EU government bonds a risk weight of zero. Since the European debt crisis, there has been increasing controversy over eliminating this equity capital privilege, which is viewed as contributing to the close ... more

The euro area reform deal is a disappointing compromise. It does not advance Europe; rather, this deal reveals that apparently, another serious crisis must occur before governments will abandon their national egotisms. The lowest common denominator in the negotiations was so low that little is ... more

By Pio Baake, Jana Friedrichsen, and Helene Naegele Fairtrade certification is intended to improve both the income and living conditions of producers, thereby creating more fairness in international trade. However, theoretical considerations and empirical studies show that this goal is only ... more

• Current DIW Weekly Report 49/2018
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