Latest Press Releases

The US Federal Reserve has decided to keep its benchmark rate unchanged in a range of 0.0 and 0.25 per cent. However, it has announced that there could soon be a slowdown in asset purchases. Professor Friedrich Heinemann, head of the ZEW Research Department “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance” at ZEW Mannheim, explains:

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Dr. Simon Reif, health economist and head of the Project Group “Health Care Markets and Health Policy” at ZEW Mannheim, received the award for thought leader of the year 2021 from Handelsblatt and the Boston Consulting Group yesterday in Berlin. He works to boost digitalisation in the health care sector and help policymakers create effective incentives for the population, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Electricity from solar or wind power is increasingly substituting electricity from conventional coal and gas-fired power plants in Germany. This reduces both emissions and wholesale prices on the energy market. Both effects benefit not only Germany, but – via the transnational electricity market – also its neighbouring countries. However, the costs of promoting renewable energies are mainly borne by German consumers, as they pay the EEG surcharge levied on them. This is the result of a study by ZEW Mannheim and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) based on generation and wholesale market price data for ten Central European countries between 2015 and 2020.

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In Germany, low-income households need more time on average to get to nursery, primary and secondary schools. Although the time difference to more affluent households is usually only a few minutes each way, this means a significant additional time burden over the course of a year.

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The ECB Governing Council doesn’t plan on ending bond purchases soon. However, compared to previous announcements, the PEPP crisis programme will slightly reduce the volume of bond purchases. Professor Friedrich Heinemann, head of the Research Department “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance” at ZEW Mannheim, explains:

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The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany decreased in the September 2021 survey, falling 13.9 points to a new reading of 26.5 points. Since May 2021, the indicator has dropped for the fourth consecutive time. The assessment of the economic situation in Germany improved in September 2021 again and currently stands at 31.9 points, 2.6 points higher than in August 2021. The situation indicator has continuously increased since February 2021, when it stood at minus 67.2 points. The situation indicator has increased by 72.0 points since May 2021, while the expectation indicator has decreased by 57.9 points during the same period. The current reading of the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany implies that over the next six months economic growth in Germany will only slightly be higher than its current reading.

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The continuation of the Eurosystem’s government bond purchases is a controversial issue within the ECB Council. A study by ZEW Mannheim now shows for the first time that the polarisation within the Council corresponds to the public debt level of the individual members’ home countries. In their public statements, national central bank presidents from countries with high government debt tend to support the continuation of the ECB’s current bond purchase programmes. On the other hand, the representatives of low-debt countries are more sceptical and call for an early exit from the programmes.

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With the start of the IAA Mobility Show, the most important German industrial sector and its problems are once again moving into the spotlight. Climate policy and the consequences of the pandemic pose major challenges for all manufacturers. This is reflected not least in the plans for mergers in this sector.

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At the end of 2025, the spectrum usage rights in the bands at 800 MHz, 1,800 MHz and 2.6 GHz will expire. The Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency) has therefore sparked a discussion on how best to provide the freed-up spectrum for use from 2026 onwards in such a way as to ensure a functioning mobile radio market and optimal broadband coverage. For this purpose, the agency published a scenario paper on which ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach and Professor Vitali Gretschko, head of the Research Department “Market Design” at ZEW Mannheim, have provided their views.

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Emerging European countries are less able to participate in global trade since correspondent banks are on the decline. The reason for this decline is that US authorities have tightened financial crime enforcement regulations. The lack of banks offering trade finance services and handling international transactions between exporters and importers makes trade with and for these countries much more difficult. This is shown in a recent study by ZEW Mannheim based on data from 17 Eastern European emerging markets, the so-called Emerging Europe.

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