Latest Press Releases

Thanks to the favourable global economic climate, innovation efforts in the German economy have developed positively over the last few years. The Research & Development activities undertaken by businesses have increased. The number of German patent registrations has also risen considerably. The economy in Baden-Württemberg is playing a significant role in this positive upward trend. In terms of patent registrations and R&D intensity, the region ranks in first place amongst all regions in Germany.

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A study carried out by the Mannheim Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) has drawn on econometric methods to analyse the quality of prognoses provided by the two indicators - the Ifo Business Climate Index (ifo-Geschäftserwartungen) and the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment. Analysis has suggested that the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment provides reliable prognoses for one month longer than the Ifo indicator. The exceptionally good quality of early indicators provided by the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment, about which there has already been a great deal of speculation, has therefore been confirmed.

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Economic expectations for Germany have continued their downfall in February and currently stand at -6.1 points, according to the ZEW Financial Market Survey. Compared to the previous month, that is a decrease of 1.7 percent. Therefore, a trend that has been going on for months is continuing in February.

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Companies that invest heavily in new information and communication technologies (ICT) often overlook skilled workers who have completed vocational apprenticeships, preferring to employ individuals who have a university degree or a similar qualification from a university of applied sciences.

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Ten years of ZEW – a success story written by the staff and researchers at ZEW. This is the conclusion drawn by the Minister President of Baden-Württemberg, Erwin Teufel, in view of the research completed by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW); an opinion he was able to voice at the gala held to celebrate the tenth anniversary of ZEW. Teufel is particularly impressed by the fact that ZEW has managed, in a relatively short period of time, to achieve a unique position amongst leading research institutes on both a national and international scale. The Minister President accorded particular recognition to those responsible for the direction of ZEW. Through their particular engagement, the founding directors of ZEW, Dr Heinz König (Scientific Director) and Ernst-O. Schulze (Director of Business and Administration), as well as ZEW President, Dr Wolfgang Franz, who took on his position from König in 1997, have made a considerable contribution to the development of the institute and its current size and significance.

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Parental leaves from full-time employment lead to significant wage losses in the long-run. Especially women are affected by this problem as they still assume the bigger part in child care, which requires them to suspend their professional work at least for a determined period of time.

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The somewhat surprising decision of the US Central Bank to reduce the base interest rate from 6.5 to 6 per cent on 3 January this year shall have further impacts until the end of the year. German financial analysts expect that the US interest rate will fall to a level of 5.25 per cent by the end of 2001.

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Economic expectations for Germany have continued its downfall and currently stand at -4.4 points, according to the ZEW Financial Market Survey. Compared to the previous month, the indicator has declined by 4.3 per cent. Now, the number of pessimists in the panel clearly outmatches the number of optimists.

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In the fourth and final quarter of 2000, the morale amongst business-related service providers has worsened slightly. The seasonally-adjusted rate of growth in turnover has fallen from 4.4 per cent in the previous quarter to 4.3 per cent. When it comes to development of returns, the businesses in this sector have a more positive outlook than they did in the third quarter of 2000.

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Business-related service providers make overwhelming use of overtime and short-time work as a solution for cyclical and seasonal changes in demand. Working lifetime accounts and part-time work play a fairly insignificant role.

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