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Is Russian Gas Still Needed in the European Union? Model-Based Analysis of Long-Term Scenarios

Aligned with the war in Ukraine, Russia has significantly withheld natural gas exports to Europe since 2021. As there are no EU-wide sanctions on imports of Russian natural gas, the Ukraine transit as well as imports via Turkey and LNG have remained active during 2022–24. However, the Russian-Ukrainian transit agreement expires at the end of 2024 and discussions about new sanctions on natural gas as ...

Ukrainian refugees in Germany: participation is growing, but many hurdles remain

How are the many Ukrainians who have come to Germany since the start of the Russian war of aggression on February 24, 2022, faring? An answer comes from the “Longitudinal Study on Refugees from Ukraine in Germany (SUARE),” which has published a research report on the topic on 3 March, 2025. The report, based on data collected between July 2023 and January 2024, is being published by the Institute for ...

Bitcoin yield is not suitable as a substitute for gold

Bitcoin Is Not the New Gold

The price of cryptocurrency Bitcoin has risen sharply over the past ten years, with many investors adding Bitcoin to their portfolios, benefitting from price increases and diversifying their investments. But is Bitcoin suitable for this purpose? This Weekly Report examines the extent to which Bitcoin, like gold, can contribute to the diversification of an investment portfolio. To achieve this, we have ...

Crime, Labor and Inequality Department Events

Crime, Labor and Inequality Department Events

Inform Me When It Matters: Cost Salience, Energy Consumption, and Efficiency Investments

Using a large-scale natural experiment in staggered billing dates for energy use in Germany and a unique billing dataset for multi-apartment buildings, this paper shows that the month of billing is a significant determinant of heat energy consumption. A large set of residential buildings demand significantly more heat energy annually, when the bill is issued during off-winter months. The paper finds ...

2nd DIW Berlin – FES UW Ph.D. Summer School in Economics

The Graduate Center of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) and the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the University of Warsaw (FES UW) are organizing a joint Summer School for Ph.D. students and post-docs in economics from September 22-26, 2025 in Warsaw. The distinguished, internationally renowned lecturers will be Prof. Michael McMahon (University of Oxford) and Prof. Dr....

16th Transatlantic Workshop on the Economics of Crime

The 16th Transatlantic Workshop on the Economics of Crime will be held in Berlin at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) on September 26-27, 2025. The event will be jointly organized by Anna Bindler (DIW Berlin & University of Potsdam) and Christian Traxler (Hertie School). We aim to bring together researchers from both sides of the Atlantic to present and discuss their...

Age and Cognitive Skills: Use It or Lose It

Cross-sectional age-skill profiles suggest that cognitive skills start declining by age 30 if not earlier. If accurate, such age-driven skill losses pose a major threat to the human capital of societies with rapidly aging populations. We estimate actual age-skill profiles from individual changes in literacy and numeracy skills at different ages. We use the unique German longitudinal component of the ...

Patience and Subnational Differences in Human Capital: Regional Analysis with Facebook Interests

Decisions to invest in human capital depend on people's time preferences. This paper shows that differences in patience are closely related to substantial subnational differences in educational achievement, leading to new perspectives on longstanding within-country disparities. We use social-media data – Facebook interests – to construct novel regional measures of patience within Italy and the United ...