Latest Press Releases

By far the most applications for the newly introduced German R&D tax credit have so far been made by companies from the mechanical engineering sector. Within manufacturing, every third applicant for the tax credit was from this sector. Almost all mechanical engineering companies that have filed an application plan to use the additional funds to strengthen their research activities. This is the result of a recent survey among mechanical engineering companies by ZEW Mannheim and the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA). At the same time, many companies eligible for the R&D tax credit have not yet applied for it or lack information on how the application process works, what effort it entails and whether it is worthwhile, according to the study’s findings. The goal must therefore be to provide more information and to offer businesses assistance in the application and approval process. In addition, it must be defined more precisely for which R&D expenditures the tax credit can be claimed.

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The search for a suitable childcare offer in Germany is often made difficult by an acute shortage in nursery schools places, complicated registration procedures and non-transparent allocation criteria. This leads to great uncertainty for both parents and their employers over when they can return to work, disadvantages for households with a low educational background and avoidable administrative burdens for nursery staff. A new procedure being piloted by economists at ZEW Mannheim, the University of Münster and the University of Oxford builds on the “theory of stable allocations” and makes it possible to allocate nursery places in a quick, fair and transparent manner.

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The ECB is about to decide on the future of its bond-buying programmes. A new study by ZEW Mannheim with the support of the Brigitte Strube Stiftung examined the government bond purchases in terms of their allocation among eurozone countries over time. The results show that since the beginning of the pandemic the share of purchases of government bonds from Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia, Spain and Ireland under its two purchase programmes, PSPP and PEPP, has significantly exceeded the ECB’s capital key. The PSPP programme has already been active since 2015, while the PEPP was launched in March 2020 to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 crisis. The deviations of the share of purchases from the ECB capital key, which serves as a benchmark, are smaller this year than in 2020. While Italy’s PEPP shares were still clearly above the national capital key in the first year of the pandemic at 13.1 per cent, they deviated by only 2.5 per cent from January to September 2021.

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Citizens’ preference for green electricity tariffs decreases when a wind turbine is built in their immediate vicinity. This is a central result of a study conducted by ZEW Mannheim together with the French university Mines ParisTech and the University of Mannheim.

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The plans of the ‘traffic light coalition’, named after the parties’ traditional colours, to increase the minimum wage and introduce a basic child allowance (Kindergrundsicherung) will have a positive financial impact, especially for low-wage earners. Both measures will lead to higher incomes for up to ten million Germans, according to calculations by ZEW Mannheim on behalf of Süddeutsche Zeitung. The calculations are based on the economic model ZEW-EviSTA and data of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).

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The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany decreased in the current December 2021 survey, falling 1.8 points to a new reading of 29.9 points. The assessment of the economic situation in Germany has worsened again in the current survey. The corresponding indicator dropped 19.9 points to a level of minus 7.4 points. This is the first time since June 2021 that the situation indicator has been in negative territory again. Compared to the previous month, the outlook for economic development in the next six months has deteriorated considerably.

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As of July 2022, Professor Nicolas Ziebarth will head the Research Department “Labour Markets and Human Resources” at ZEW Mannheim. The role as research department head is linked to a professorship in the Department of Economics at the University of Mannheim. Ziebarth is an economist at the renowned Cornell University in the US, where he has been studying the interaction of (social) insurance systems with labour markets and population health for more than ten years. His primary research interests are sick pay, reduced earning capacity pension, job security and undeclared work.

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About one in four students in Germany drops out of a bachelor’s programme and about one in six drops out of a master’s programme. Although many of those affected start vocational training after dropping out, the time spent at university has negative financial consequences both for the tax authorities and for the dropouts themselves, according to a recent study by ZEW Mannheim. On the one hand, dropping out becomes a negative business for public budgets: Compared to high school graduates who go straight into vocational training, the government expenditure for dropouts exceeds the expected income from taxes and other levies over the following 40 years of their working lives. On the other hand, dropouts face a negative individual return on education compared to the reference group.

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Civic engagement in Germany has played an important role in the integration of migrants since autumn 2015. Migrants living in regions with active volunteer groups have had more frequent contact with Germans, have better German language skills and higher life satisfaction. These are the results of a recent study by ZEW Mannheim.

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The currently very high consumer price inflation rates in the euro area are expected to gradually decline over the next two years, but are projected to remain well above the ECB’s target of two per cent over this period. Disruptions in international supply chains, raw material shortages and high energy prices are expected to become less important drivers of inflation by 2023. On the other hand, the relevance of wage growth in the euro area for the experts’ inflation expectations has increased significantly compared to previous surveys, especially for the year 2022.

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