DIW Weekly Report

Electricity Markets Stabilized Following the Energy Crisis; 80 Percent Renewable Energy and Coal Phase-out by 2030 Are Possible

The German electricity market has recovered well from the 2022 energy crisis. Policymakers should now redirect the focus of energy policy to further expanding renewable energy sources. The year 2023 showed that the German electricity supply remained secure following the shutdown of nuclear power plants. It is possible, affordable, and plausible in light of climate policy to cover 80 percent of electricity ...

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A Renewable Energy Pool Brings Benefits of Energy Transition to Consumers

German companies view high and uncertain electricity prices a major challenge. A Renewable Energy Pool (RE-Pool), wherein the favorable conditions of competitive tenders for new wind and solar power projects are passed on to electricity consumers, could hedge such price risks. Consumers’ electricity prices are thus hedged for the share of their consumption that corresponds to the RE-Pool’s generation ...

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Heat Transition: Municipalities Need Federal Support in Decommissioning Natural Gas Networks

Large parts of the existing natural gas distribution networks must be decommissioned due to the decarbonization of the heat supply. However, there are neither regulatory nor economic incentives for the gas network operators to do so and delaying the decommissioning could be expensive for the remaining customers. This Weekly Report analyzes to what extent municipalities can partially decommission the ...

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Extended Restrictions to Health Care Entitlements for Refugees: Negative Health Consequences without the Anticipated Savings

Refugees have limited health care entitlements during the asylum process. In February 2024, the maximum length of this exclusion period was increased from 18 to 36 months. This increase may double the actual waiting time, which is currently already more than one year, as data from the Socio-Economic Panel show. This particularly affects refugees with a low level of education and little knowledge of ...

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DIW Berlin Economic Outlook: Global Economy Experiencing Robust Growth; Germany’s Recovery Is Delayed Further

The German economy will likely contract in the first quarter of 2024 due to still heightened inflation and weak demand, which was already weighing on German economic output in 2023. Inflation, which is falling in both Germany and the euro area overall, is expected to return close to the European Central Bank's two-percent target, suggesting that a turnaround in interest rates can be expected in early ...

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No Lasting Increase in the Gender Care Gap in Germany after the Coronavirus Pandemic

The gender care gap, i.e., the difference between the amount of unpaid care work—such as childcare and housework—performed between men and women is comparatively high in Germany: Women take on much more unpaid care work than men. This gap increases consistently when starting a family. At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, many feared that the gender care gap may grow even larger. In ...

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Coalitions for Sanctions Heighten Costs for Russia but Burden of Implementation Should Be Shared among Member Countries

Countries increasingly form alliances to collectively impose sanctions. However, the resulting impact of such coordination remains unclear. Analyzing the 2014 wave of sanctions against Russia over 400,000 simulations with a quantitative trade model, this report demonstrates that multilateral cooperation through coalitions simultaneously reduced domestic welfare losses incurred from sanctions and intensified ...

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Expanding Long-term Care Insurance Could Reduce the Gender Care Gap in Germany

In many European countries, men and women differ significantly in the amount of informal care work they provide for relatives, with women acting as caregivers far more frequently than men. This difference, known as the gender care gap, varies considerably between European countries, with Germany somewhere in the middle of the distribution. This Weekly Report analyzes the institutional, societal, and ...

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200 Years of Sovereign Debt Crises: Serial Restructurings May Be Accompanied by Higher Creditor Losses

Many sovereign defaults have occurred worldwide over the past 200 years. An analysis of 321 sovereign debt restructurings since 1815 shows that foreign private and institutional investor losses were 43 percent on average. Notably, beginning in the 1970s, several debt exchanges have increasingly been required to resolve a default. To understand this new phenomenon better, this Weekly Report looks at ...

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The Energy Transition in France: Expansion of Renewables Stalling, Good Progress on Heat Pumps

The energy transition is a major challenge for both Germany and France. This Weekly Report provides an overview of the short- and long-term goals as well as current developments and trends in France’s energy and climate policy. It reveals that France is largely on track with its greenhouse gases targets and is also making good progress on installing heat pumps. However, its expansion of renewable energy ...

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