News

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Wolfgang Franz received the "Merkur", the top award of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of the Stuttgart Region (IHK Region Stuttgart). IHK honours personalities who rendered outstanding services to the economy in the State of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and Europe with the Merkur award. The award is named after the god Mercury, patron saint of merchants and tradesmen. Dr. Herbert Müller, president of IHK Region Stuttgart, presented the award to Franz on November 20, 2012, in Stuttgart.

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Maiting Zhuang was visiting researcher at the ZEW Research Group "Growth and Business Cycles" from November 5-16, 2012. Maiting Zhuang is a eurozone analyst at the Bank of England in London and is currently part of the Americas & Asia team. She studied economics with a focus on development economics at the London School of Economics (LSE). During her stay she exchanged ideas with ZEW researchers on forecasting methods and problems of the euro crisis.

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In November 2012, the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) and the KfW Bankengruppe jointly presented the current report on the KfW/ZEW Start-Up Panel. Under the title "Start with Strategy – Labour Turnover and Financing Behaviour of Young Companies" (Start mit Strategie – Beschäftigungfluktuation und Finanzierungsverhalten junger Unternehmen), the report especially examines strategic decisions regarding personnel management and financing decisions of start-ups. In addition, the report contains information on aggregated closure rates of young companies as well as on the determinants of start-ups’ individual likelihood to survive.

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Experts and executives from government institutions from China, Burma, and Vietnam successfully concluded the qualification programme “Strengthening Macroeconomic Policies” (MPS+) at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim, Germany. After ten weeks of intensive training, the participants were handed out their certificates by ZEW President Wolfgang Franz in a ceremony on November 15, 2012.

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Dr. Marcel Fratzscher addressed a controversial issue that is currently fuelling worldwide political debate at the ZEW Research Seminar: he discussed the results of a study on the global impact of the monetary policy measures by the American Central Bank Federal Reserve (Fed).

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The Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) and the Australian National University (ANU) jointly organised the conference entitled "The Rise of Emissions Trading in Asia: Established Principles - Novel Practices" in Mannheim on November 12-13, 2012. Some 30 international experts exchanged ideas on current global trends with establishing emissions trading schemes. Developments and the mechanisms of already existing emissions trading schemes as well as upcoming approaches in China, South Korea, and Australia were discussed. The conference was conducted within the framework of the project "Sustainable Partners - Partners for Sustainability: Emerging Emission Trading Schemes in the People’s Republic of China" promoted by Robert Bosch Foundation.

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Since the middle of the last decade the situation on the German labour market has made a significant change for the better. The number of people in employment increased by 2.7 million between 2005 and 2012. This trend was mirrored by a significant drop in unemployment to the lowest level since German reunification. These successes have been accompanied by a change in public perceptions regarding the labour market. The actual number of people in work and out of work is no longer the key issue. What matters now are factors such as the "quality" of employment conditions and justice in terms of income distribution. In particular, widespread poverty caused by much-maligned "starvation wages" - especially in low-paid work - and increasing wage divergence in relation to educational attainment are the focus of vehement and sometimes acrimonious debate. This debate has found various forms of expression, including recent campaigns for more equitable wage distribution.

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Despite the strains of the European debt crisis, Germany's economy has remained fairly stable relative to other eurozone countries. This is the conclusion of the latest Joint Economic Forecast (or Gemeinschaftsdiagnose), a biannual economic assessment issued by leading research institutes in the German-speaking world. Dr. Marcus Kappler, chief ZEW researcher involved in drafting the report, answers our questions.

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ZEW employee Lisa Sattel completed her apprenticeship as an office communication assistant and a foreign language correspondent at ZEW with great success. The Leibniz Association acknowledged her commitment by nominating her for the Leibniz Apprenticeship Award 2012.

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The German economy is on the upswing. The institutes forecast an increase of the real gross domestic product by 3.5 percent in 2010 and 2.0 percent in 2011. The situation on the labour market will continue to improve. For the first time since 1992, the number of unemployed is expected to be below 3 millions. The government’s deficit rate is expected to decrease to 2.7 percent.

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