This paper investigates the elusive role of productivity heterogeneity in new trade models in the trade and environment nexus. We contrast the Eaton-Kortum and the Melitz models with firm heterogeneity to the Armington and Krugman models without heterogeneity. We show that if firms have a constant emission share in terms of sales — as they do in a wide range of trade and environment models — the...
The interplay of technology and knowledge constitutes the backbone of entrepreneurial ecosystems, crucial for fostering innovation. This study applies the economic complexity approach as a tool for quantitatively evaluating these ecosystems in German labor market regions. Our contribution to the literature involves linking comprehensive micro-datasets encompassing economic sectors and patent data...
The German “traffic light” (Ampel) coalition has set ambitious new energy transition targets. Using an open data tool developed at DIW Berlin, we discuss the progress and challenges of selected indicators. Since the government took over, photovoltaic capacity increased by 45 % to 87 GW by April 2024, with a planned doubling by 2030. However, onshore wind power grew by only 11 % to 62 GW. The installation ...
The use of gas will decline dramatically as part of the transition to net zero. Modeling at European levelsshows that by 2050 about 70% less gaseous fuels will be used. Significant regulatory reform is needed todeal with the impacts of this decline on the gas grid.