Macroeconomics Department Publications

Capital Requirements for New Government Bond Purchases Only Could Be a Reasonable Strategy: Interview with Dorothea Schäfer

Risk Weighting for Government Bonds: Challenge for Italian Banks

Although banks are required to document their equity capital for loans, corporate bonds, and other receivables, they are currently exempted from the procedure when investing in government bonds: they enjoy an “equity capital privilege.” As part of the Basel III regulatory framework redraft, the privilege may be eliminated in order to disentangle the default risks between sovereigns and banks. The present ...

Income Groups and Types of Employment in Germany since 1995

This report examines how income groups and forms of employment in Germany have changed in the past two decades. Since the mid-1990s, inequality in disposable household income in Germany has generally increased. This trend was in effect until 2005. While fewer people had disposable incomes in the median range, the proportion of the population at both tails of the income distribution increased. At the ...

No Germany-Wide Housing Bubble but Overvaluation in Regional Markets and Segments

Although the housing prices in the 127 largest German cities have surged strongly in recent years, there is still no sign of a Germanywide housing bubble. In comparison with 2009, the price of condominiums has risen by around 55 percent. Single-family houses cost between 38 and 45 percent more in 2016 than seven years prior, and building lot prices have risen by around 63 percent. The study at hand ...

German Economy in Good Shape: DIW Economic Outlook

The German economy is in the midst of a robust economic cycle: the number of employed persons has reached historic highs and is still increasing powerfully; private household income is on the rise; and the public coffers are overflowing. Inflation is rising only gradually, partly because capacities are not overburdened. The mood is bright among consumers and firms alike, with economic development distributed ...

The World Economy and the Euro Area: Despite Risks, Global Recovery Is Stabilizing: DIW Economic Outlook

Global economic output is expected to grow by 3.7 percent this year, and with a slightly stronger dynamic in the coming year; both predictions match the figures proposed in DIW Berlin’s spring forecast, even though the year started off somewhat weaker than expected. But overall, economic recovery continues. Despite rising inflation rates, private consumption remains one of the main drivers in the developed ...

German Economy on Track: Editorial

The Higher Educated, the More Optimistic about the Consequences of Refugee Immigration: Eight Questions for Philipp Eisnecker

In 2016, around One-Third of People in Germany Donated for Refugees and Ten Percent Helped out on Site—yet Concerns Are Mounting

The presence of refugees in Germany and the challenges their integration poses have preoccupied the public for the past two years. According to the latest data of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), many more people in Germany were concerned about migration and xenophobia last year than in 2013. The additional representative results of the Barometer of Public Opinion on Refugees in Germany in 2016 and ...

China's Investment Strategy Is Different for Western and Eastern Europe: Five Questions for Christian Dreger

This report examines China’s strategy for investing in Europe. While investing in Western Europe is primarily about obtaining access to advanced technologies, investing in Central and Eastern Europe is more about establishing a presence in the EU common market and expanding infrastructure—which also fits into the framework of the New Silk Road Initiative. An econometric analysis reveals that the investments ...