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Press Release
Germany’s research and development concentrated in urban areas – public research undergoing dynamic development
According to a new study conducted by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), spatial proximity to industrial production plays a greater role for Germany’s private research and development (R&D) than does proximity to publicly funded research institutions ...
15.11.2016
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Interview
How large is Germany’s research and development (R&D) workforce, and which regions have the highest concentration of R&D activity?
In 2013, the German R&D workforce amounted to 589,000 people. We find a strong concentration in the two regions (so-called Raumordnungsregionen) of Stuttgart and Munich, with 19 percent of the workforce based there. Germany’s most densely ...
15.11.2016
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Economic Bulletin
The past few decades have seen a considerable increase in caesarean section rates, which have now reached unprecedented levels. Concerns have been raised about the possibility of medically unnecessary procedures having negative consequences for mothers and infants (WHO, 2015). The aim of this report is to show that a properly implemented hospital-level policy may be a powerful tool for reducing the ...
26.10.2016| Sofia Amaral-Garcia, Jana Friedrichsen
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Interview
The past few decades have seen a significant increase in the C-section rates of many developed countries. How much have the rates increased in Italy and Germany, the subjects of your report?
We focus primarily on Italy, but we also discuss Germany to some extent—and according to OECD statistics for the year 1990, C-section rates amounted to 15 percent in Germany and approximately 20 percent ...
26.10.2016
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Personnel news
Stefan Seifert, who joined the DIW Graduate Center in October 2011 and worked at the Firms and Markets department, has successfully defended his dissertation at Technische Universität Berlin.His dissertation entitled “Productivity and Efficiency in Electricity Generation and Distribution", was supervised by Prof. Dr. Christian von Hirschhausen (DIW, TU Berlin) and Dr. Astrid Cullmann ...
14.10.2016
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Press Release
DIW Berlin’s experts identified the city’s untapped potential and formed recommendations based on a comprehensive study of its labor market, startup culture, and public investment patterns. The result: good potential, but productivity is low and innovation is weak. Overall, Berlin needs more fast-growing companies.
Has Berlin turned a corner? After a long period of stagnation, the city ...
25.07.2016
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Interview
Mr. Gornig, there appear to be some contradictions in Berlin’s economic situation. On the one hand, Berlin is a boomtown characterized by a flourishing tourism industry and ever-increasing real estate prices; on the other hand, unemployment is high and wages are low. What’s actually going on here?
Both impressions are correct. Berlin is experiencing massive growth at high rates, but the ...
25.07.2016
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Report
Titled “Regulatory Challenges in Digital Markets: Privacy”, the annual conference of the Leibniz ScienceCampus “Berlin Centre for Consumer Policies” (BCCP) took place on June 17 in Humboldt University Berlin’s Senate Hall.
The four panels of the conference featured several prominent figures from science and politics, including Hal Varian (Chief Economist, Google), Gerd ...
14.07.2016
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Report
Under an open access policy, incumbent broadband providers in all EU countries are required to let new market entrants access their networks through bitstream or local loop unbundling (LLU). This type of regulatory provision aims to increase competition among all broadband providers, and is strongly recommended in markets where the prohibitively high cost of setting up a distribution network means ...
13.07.2016
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Interview
Mr. Nardotto, you investigated the market for broadband communication networks using data from UK broadband. The incumbent broadband providers have a strong market position because they own the network. What options do new entries have to compete?
Historically, the EU implemented regulation because the authorities were afraid that the incumbents could transfer their monopolistic power into the new ...
13.07.2016
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Report
In this study, we analyze a client’s choice of contract in auctions where Dutch law firms compete for cases. The distinguishing feature is that lawyers may submit bids with any fee arrangement they wish. We find robust evidence that bids offering hourly rates are less attractive to clients. Our findings tentatively contradict lawyers’ often-made argument that hourly rates are in a client’s ...
11.07.2016
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Interview
Mr. Seldeslachts, you analyzed a client’s choice of contract in auctions where Dutch law firms compete for cases. What was the aim of your investigation?
The aim was to look at a completely different environment where lawyers could offer contracts to clients, who were then actually able to choose from among several lawyers and various kinds of contracts. [...]
The interview with Jo Seldeslachts, ...
11.07.2016
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Press Release
DIW Berlin study reveals decline in foreign-owned companies’ R&D spending, but increase in overall R&D expenditure due to domestic companies’ considerable investment – foreign-owned companies are investing more strongly in leading-edge technologies, and midsize foreign-owned companies recently raised their R&D expenditure
Private companies’ overall R&D ...
09.06.2016
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Interview
Mr. Eickelpasch, you’ve studied the participation of foreign companies in research and development (R&D) in Germany. How has this developed in recent years?
R&D expenditure decreased by ten percent in 2013 compared to 2011, bringing it down to 11.9 billion euros. We see a similar picture for the development of R&D personnel, in other words, employees tasked with research and development. ...
08.06.2016
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Press Release
DIW Berlin conducted two studies on developments in energy supply – private utilities no more efficient than public utilities – consolidation in drinking water sector offers little benefit
More and more cities and municipalities in Germany are once again taking the electricity, gas, and heating utilities into their own hands: between 2003 and 2012, the number of public utilities increased ...
20.05.2016
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Interview
Ms. Cullmann, in recent years many communities have been reacquiring previously privatized shares in energy companies. Does this point to a trend toward remunicipalization?
We have created a new microdata set of German energy companies in order to analyze this question for the first time in Germany. Our empirical analysis shows that both the number as well as the turnover of public companies in the ...
20.05.2016
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Press Release
Current corporate investment levels hardly surpass pre-crisis levels – Experts Commission’s recommendations for strengthening investment still relevant – additional tax incentives should be considered
Businesses in Germany are still investing too little in their manufacturing facilities. As a new study conducted by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) reveals, ...
22.04.2016
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Report
Energy sectors—primarily power generation and gas production, but also energy transmission and distribution—require significant capital investment in infrastructure. Market structures as well as the degree of competition and regulation are key factors that determine firms’ incentive to invest. Yet the empirical research on the link between these factors and private investment is still ...
15.04.2016
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Report
The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is the cornerstone of the European Union’s climate policy and covers just under half of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions. More than ten years since the EU ETS was first introduced, there continues to be substantial research interest regarding its functioning and the behavior of participating companies. DIW Berlin conducted three econometric studies ...
10.03.2016
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Report
The majority of OECD member states promote companies’ research and development (R&D) activities by providing project funding. Recently, in many countries, tax incentives have also begun to play an increasingly important role. The present study examines the level of R&D support in 18 OECD countries and explores how efficient the system of funding actually is. The main findings show that ...
29.02.2016