We estimate the dynamic effects of government spending shocks, using time-varying volatility in US data modeled through a Markov switching process. We find that the average government spending multiplier is significantly and persistently above one, driven by a crowding-in of private consumption and non-residential investment. We rationalize the results empirically through a contemporaneously countercyclical ...
The recovery from the corona virus pandemic provides a unique opportunity for transformation. But what does it take for the German and the European economy to thrive in the new, more digital, post-Covid world? How can we transform our economies while also limiting climate change and preparing for its impact? Will we manage to advance structural transformation while strengthening social cohesion? ...
Last year, the Climate Friendly Materials Platform proposed an innovative policy framework to support the decarbonisation of the basic materials sector in the EU. A new policy brief from the platform focuses on one major component of this package: introducing the climate contribution to compliment the free allocation in the EU Emissions Trading System. The brief clarifies the concept and explains why ...
The EU Commission has approved Google's acquisition of the fitness tracker manufacturer Fitbit. Here is a statement from competition economist Tomaso Duso, Head of the Firms and Markets Department at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin):
By developing a taxonomy for sustainable investments, the EU Commission has created the first standardized criteria for climate-friendly economic activities.To achieve the goal of climate neutrality by 2050, firms and investors must be well informed of which investments avoid greenhouse gas emis- sions and can thus be categorized as sustainable. The present report investigates to what extent the EU ...
We study the causal effect of local labor market conditions and attitudes towards immigrants at the time of arrival on refugees’ multi-dimensional integration outcomes (economic, linguistic, navigational, political, psychological, and social). Using a unique dataset on refugees, we leverage a centralized allocation policy in Germany where refugees were exogenously assigned to live in specific counties. ...
Modernization theorists’ ‘rising tide hypothesis’ predicted the continuous spread of egalitarian gender ideologies across the globe. We revisit this assumption by studying reunified Germany, a country that did not follow a strict modernization pathway. The socialist German Democratic Republic (GDR) actively fostered female employment and systematically promoted egalitarian ideologies before reunification ...
We have developed and implemented a new sampling strategy to better represent very wealthy individuals in the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). Our strategy is based on the empirical regularity that the very wealthy have at least part of their assets invested in businesses, and that businesses document shares of relevant shareholders in their books. Our results show that combined analysis of the ...
