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Press Release
A further possible ten countries could be EU members by 2004. The EU accession countries will automatically become members of the Eurozone a few years after this, if they comply with the criteria stipulated in the Maastricht Treaty. In its current weekly report 15/2001, the DIW Berlin points out that if the European Central Bank (ECB) were to keep its present decision-making structure, it would in ...
10.04.2002
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Press Release
Signs of a nascent economic recovery in the USA and in Europe, the increasing willingness of the OPEC-countries to stick to the quota, and speculations on a possible US military intervention in Iraq, which would consequently result in a restricted oil supply, have led to an unexpected drastic rise in prices for crude oil in the first quarter of 2002. Prices for crude oil had already topped 27 US-dollar ...
10.04.2002
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Press Release
Japan's overwhelming success story came to an abrupt end when the bubble burst in the 1980s. The Japanese economy has since found itself in a permanent crisis. Its economic situation has been characterised by deflation. Despite all political attempts, domestic demand has not recovered. In its latest volume of the Quarterly Journal of Economic Research Japan: How to overcome the Difficult Decade?, ...
03.04.2002
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Press Release
From an economic point of view, Great Britain's accession to the European Monetary Union is neither a great risk for the country itself nor for the current members of EMU. This conclusion was reached by the DIW Berlin in its current weekly report 13/2002 - 14/2002. However, the most difficult problem would be to fix an adequate exchange rate for the pound, which was neither a burden to Great Britain ...
27.03.2002
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Press Release
After the European Central Bank (ECB) only reluctantly reacted to the synchronous world-wide economic downturn, a further reduction in interest rates has become even more unlikely against the backdrop of the beginnings of an economic upturn in the Eurozone. Financial markets even expect an increase in interest rates. In its current weekly report 12/2002, the DIW Berlin warns against the repetition ...
20.03.2002
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Press Release
By allowing the peso to float freely at the beginning of this year, Argentina fundamentally changed its monetary policy. For the previous eleven years, the peso had been pegged to the US-Dollar by a currency board. In its current weekly report 12/2002, the DIW Berlin warns against this strategy. It also does not consider the free floatation of the peso to be a workable solution. The DIW instead suggests ...
20.03.2002
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Press Release
Berlin has no other alternative but to continue its strict policy of consolidation. Despite the fact that cost-cutting measures greatly curb regional economic trends, the DIW Berlin advises strict compliance with these measures in its current weekly report 10/2002. However, no further cuts should be made in the budgets for education, science and culture, as these sectors have a promising future and ...
05.03.2002
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Press Release
The World Environment· The September 11th attacks on the United States and the consequent combat against international terrorism have clouded the short-term outlook for the world economy. · World economic growth had already slowed considerably from the final quarter of last year. Monetary tightening in reaction to persistent high growth rates in the US was partly responsible. · A further deepening ...
12.11.2001
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Press Release
The economies of the United States and of the rest of the world were hit by the attacks of 11 September during a phase of pronounced cyclical weakness. Pro-vided there are no additional massive terrorist attacks, there is no extension of the conflict, and there is no reduction of petroleum supplies, a world-wide re-covery that also gives new impetus to world trade may be expected from the first half ...
23.10.2001
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Press Release
Prices for crude oil will probably soon again be levelling out between 22 to 28 dollars per barrel, a price span that is also favoured by the OPEC. However, prices are expected to level off at the upper edge of the span. In its current weekly report 39/2001 the DIW Berlin points out that such a price level may be too high in view of the current situation of the global economy. It is, therefore, also ...
26.09.2001
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Press Release
The planned enlargement of the EU to include the twelve candidate countries can be financed without any problems: this is the conclusion that the DIW Berlin reaches in its current Wochenbericht 36/2001. Nevertheless, the Institute calls upon current EU members to begin now with the reform of structural and agricultural policy in the run-up to enlargement. Such reforms are long overdue and would be ...
05.09.2001
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Press Release
Housing conditions for foreigners have clearly improved since the end of 1985 in West-Germany. At that time about 15% of foreign households had no bathroom. This number fell to 2% in 1998. In addition to that the number of households without central heating fell to 16% which is a cut by half. Each foreigner has about 31 square meters at his disposal, three square meters more than in 1985.
25.07.2001
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Press Release
Innovation depends on cooperation between different institutes and the business sector. Division of labour between subsidised institutes on the one hand, which are more heavily engaged in pure research, and private service industries on the other which are more focussed on rendering production-related consultancy and implementing services is a precondition for achieving a higher level of innovation ...
25.07.2001
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Press Release
The German GDP will only grow by 1% this year. A noticeably economic recovery and an economic growth of 2,3% can not be expected until next year. This conclusion is reached by the DIW Berlin in its summer-baselines on the economic development 2001/2002. The eurozone, too, is expected to show a slower economic expansion this year; the GDP will only increase by 1,9%. An economic recovery is not expected ...
10.07.2001
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Press Release
The economic downturn in the eurozone has continued in the first quarter of 2001. In its weekly report 26/2001 the DIW Berlin concludes that the seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product has only increased by 0,5 % in the first quarter of 2001; which boils down to an annual growth rate of 2%. The accelerated rise in prices, which was a bar to the spending power of private households and investments, ...
27.06.2001
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Press Release
The determined and expansionary measures taken by the US-American economic policy give rise to the assumption that the heavy slide in the economic activity will not result in a recession but will be overcome as early as this year. This conclusion was reached by the DIW Berlin in its latest weekly report 23/2001. It is above all the Fed's promotion of growth and employment that gives a positive ...
07.06.2001
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Press Release
Conditions on the Russian housing market have barely improved since the transformation of the country. Although the housing market grew by 13,8% to 2761 Mio m² in the 1990s there was also an increase in the number of households (homecoming soldiers, increasing divorce rates). Since flats in most regions are no longer distributed by the state there are hardly any reliable data on the number of persons ...
30.05.2001
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Press Release
The global expansion has slowed down noticeably since the middle of the year 2000. At the same time, a phase of especially high dynamics came to an end. On the one hand, it was decisive that the increase in oil prices stemmed economic activity. On the other hand, monetary policy slowed down in order to reduce the high pace of the economy by the middle of the year and to decrease accelerated inflation. ...
10.04.2001
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Press Release
Despite tax reform: stimulation of economy put at risk in 2001Germany faced a slow increase in consumption last year. Particularly in the second half of 2000 consumption slowed down. This was due to weaker income impulses which were caused by weaker income impulses and an enormous rise in oil prices leading to extra costs in private households. Therefore, the private consumption only increased by 1,6 ...
14.03.2001
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Press Release
The OPEC will succeed in keeping the prices for crude oil between 22 and 28 dollars per barrel. This conclusion is reached by the DIW in its weekly report. The OPEC's announcement to clearly cut back crude oil production as well as low stocks, particularly in the USA, have stopped a further drop-off in prices.
07.03.2001