Macroeconomics Department Publications

New Capital Requirements for EU Government Bonds Would Lead to Problems for Greece: Eight Questions to Dorothea Schäfer

Stricter Capital Requirements for Investing in EU Government Bonds as a Means of Creating a More Stable Financial System

In the wake of the European debt crisis, it has become clear that government bonds may actually be a risky form of investment. The Basel Committee and the Bundesbank have therefore opened an intense debate as to whether banks investing in EU government bonds should be subject to regulatory capital requirements in the future. Currently, banks do not need equity capital when investing in sovereign bonds. ...

ECB Bond Purchases: No Panacea for Deflation: Seven Questions to Kerstin Bernoth and Philipp König

Unchartered Territory: Large-Scale Asset Purchases by the European Central Bank

The European Central Bank (ECB) decided at its Council meeting in January to implement a comprehensive program to purchase bonds, including euro area government bonds. The purchases are intended to anchor the rate of inflation and inflation expectations at below but close to two percent again. Given the lack of experience with this unconventional monetary policy instrument, the ECB is venturing into ...

Upswing in a Subdued Global Economy: DIW Economic Outlook

The German economy continues to recover, and will grow by 2.2 percent in 2015 and by 1.9 percent in 2016. The unemployment rate will further decline, to 6.4 percent this year and 6.1percent in 2016. Inflation, which averages 0.5 percent this year, will be substantially dampened by the slump in oil prices; in 2016 as well, inflation will remain low, at 1.2 percent. The global economy continues in its ...

Aircraft Noise in Berlin Affects Quality of Life Even Outside the Airport Grounds

Aircraft noise is a particularly problematic source of noise as many airports are located in or near major cities and, as a result, densely populated areas are affected. Data from the Berlin Aging Study II (Berliner Altersstudie II, BASE-II), whose socio-economic module is based on the longitudinal Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study which has been conducted since 1984, allows us to examine the effect ...

Reunification: An Economic Success Story

People’s expectations after the fall of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago and of reunification in 1990 were huge. The government promised to create “flourishing landscapes” within a few years. The euphoria of reunification came not only through the desire to finally become one country and one nation again but also had tangible economic reasons: the people from East Germany wanted better economic prospects, ...

Safe Bonds for the European Monetary Union: Strengthening Bailout Ban with More Robust Financial System

The cost of state bankruptcy in the euro area is incalculable due to the repercussions for the financial system. As a result of contagion effects, there is a risk that the entire Monetary Union could be pushed into deep recession. This forces euro area member states to implement rescue packages during periods of crisis, at a high costto taxpayers. The bailout policy adopted during the most recent crisis ...

Fiscal Devaluation: Economic Stimulus for Crisis Countries in the Euro Area

Member countries of the euro area, and the peripheral states in particular, face an especially difficult problem: on the one hand, they urgently need stronger economic growth to reduce high debt and unemployment levels. On the other hand, however, they have no scope to use fiscal policy to stimulate the economy. One way to strengthen economic growth without burdening public finances might be to implement ...

GDP-Linked Loans for Greece

Greece is standing at a crossroads. The need for a third rescue package has now become a critical issue. The Greek government is calling for another de facto-public debt restructuring. An alternative option presented here would be to convert existing GLF loans into GDP-linked loans. Interest payments would then be linked to the development of Greece’s GDP. First, this would reduce the likelihood of ...