Latest Press Releases

The Federal Constitutional Court has cleared the way for the EU’s 750 billion euro recovery fund in Germany. The actual constitutional suit has, however, not yet been decided. Professor Friedrich Heinemann, research department head and public finance expert at ZEW Mannheim, comments on this matter:

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The Bundestag will make a final decision today on whether Germany will approve the EU’s own resources decision. This decision paves the way for joint EU borrowing of 750 billion euros to finance the European coronavirus recovery package. Professor Friedrich Heinemann, research department head and public finance expert at ZEW Mannheim, comments on this matter as follows:

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The German Federal Audit Office has published a special report on the consequences of joint EU borrowing in the context of the European coronavirus recovery package. In this report, which is based on calculations conducted by ZEW Mannheim in October 2020 for an expert hearing at the German Bundestag, the Federal Audit Office has confirmed the figures and findings of the ZEW study. The new own resources decision will provide the EU with a guaranteed volume of at least four billion euros, which far exceeds the repayment obligations for the recovery plan. This creates incentives to expand joint European borrowing to finance other purposes, even if this borrowing is, for now, legally limited to the scope of financing the recovery plan. Under the new own resources decision, all EU states will be jointly liable for EU debt until 2058, which, according to the German Federal Audit Office, undermines the principle of national ownership. Professor Friedrich Heinemann, author of the ZEW study on the EU own resource decision and the liability implications for Germany’s federal budget, comments on this matter:

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The Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs have released a white paper which should lay the foundation for an increase in the minimum wage. Professor Sebastian Siegloch, head of ZEW’s Research Department “Social Policy and Redistribution”, comments on this matter.

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At the invitation of the German Federal Cartel Office, leaders and competition experts from various countries are discussing current issues of cartel law at the 20th International Conference on Competition today alongside Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier and EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. One of the focal points of this year’s event will be a panel discussion with Professor Achim Wambach, president of ZEW Mannheim and member of the Monopolies Commission, on public welfare goals as a challenge for antitrust practice. Wambach comments on this matter:

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The economic consequences of the pandemic will be felt in Germany and around the world for some time to come. Together with the presidents of the six German economic research institutes of the Leibniz Association, the president of ZEW Mannheim, Professor Achim Wambach, today discussed “The Economic Consequences of the Pandemic” at the annual Leibniz Economic Summit:

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According to preliminary calculations by the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the coronavirus crisis in 2020 resulted in the government deficit totalling 139.6 billion euros. Professor Friedrich Heinemann, head of ZEW’s Research Department “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance”, comments on this issue:

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The third Coronavirus Tax Assistance Act is not ambitious enough to soften the impact of the coronavirus crisis, which is hitting the German economy even harder than the financial crisis. Given the extent of the crisis, measures have turned out to be too cautious and not innovative enough on the whole. Therefore, further measures are appropriate. Christopher Ludwig, researcher in the ZEW’s “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance” Department, made this position clear at an expert hearing on the third Coronavirus Tax Assistance Act at the German Bundestag Finance Committee in Berlin.

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The US Nasdaq, or Nasdaq OMX Group since 2008, will turn 50 on 8 February 2021. Based in New York City, it has since become the second largest stock exchange in the world. As the first electronic stock exchange, it has attracted especially innovative technology companies. That is why it is often referred to as the technology exchange to this day. Dr. Georg Licht, head of the Research Department “Economics of Innovation and Industrial Dynamics” at ZEW Mannheim, explains the importance of Nasdaq for high-tech companies:

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Germany’s Vaccination Summit is taking place today in Berlin. Among the topics on the agenda is the vaccine shortage, which is currently the subject of much discussion. In an article in today’s edition of German business daily “Handelsblatt”, ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach and head of the “Market Design” Research Department, Professor Vitali Gretschko, argue for greater competition to speed up vaccine production:

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