News

Loren Brandt, PhD, was a visiting researcher in ZEW’s Research Department “Economics of Innovation and Industrial Dynamics” from 4 to 8 November 2019. He is a professor at the University of Toronto, Canada. His research interests include economic development, economic history and the Chinese economy.

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On 7 November 2019, ZEW Mannheim welcomed 25 apprentices undertaking vocational training in the field of commerce at Berufsbildungszentrum Mannheim (BZE). During their visit, the group found out about the day-to-day business in an economic research institute, how ZEW differs from a university-based economics department, and which specific research questions are tackled by the ZEW team.

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Serena Trucchi, PhD, was a visiting researcher in ZEW’s Research Department “International Finance and Financial Management” from 23 September to 31 October 2019. She is an assistant professor at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy. Her research interests include household consumption and saving, labour supply, ageing, financial literacy and applied microeconomics.

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Professor emeritus Egon Lorenz, former Supervisory Board member of ZEW Mannheim and legal scholar at the University of Mannheim, passed away on 16 October 2019 at the age of 85. The legal expert contributed his scientific expertise to the ZEW committee for 16 years.

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For seven years now, Chinese executives have been attending ZEW’s month-long training programme ‘Fit for Partnership in Germany’. The programme, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi), is overseen by Barbara Hey, deputy head of the ZEW Department “Knowledge Transfer and Qualification Programmes”, together with her colleague Manuel Lauer.  

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Dr. Sarah Necker was a visiting researcher in ZEW’s Research Department “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance” from 21 to 25 October 2019. She is Executive Research Associate at the Walter Eucken Institut in Freiburg. Her research interests lie in the field of applied economics and focus on the incentives for unethical or illegal behaviour. Currently, Sarah Necker is researching on how cheating has developed over time, while also studying the demand and supply of collaborative tax evasion/undeclared work.

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On October 24, Mario Draghi chaired his last meeting of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Governing Council. After eight years as president, Draghi will depart from the ECB at the end of the month, having shaped it like no one before him. ZEW President Achim Wambach looks back on Draghi’s tenure as head of one of the world’s most important central banks.

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Digital change is a highly dynamic process that affects Europe’s labour markets. Polarisation and inequality are two of the greatest challenges to be tackled: while activities involving interactive and analytical skills will be able to withstand change, routine tasks are more likely to be automated in the future. So far, automation processes in companies have created more jobs than they have destroyed. However, it is important to make and keep people fit for the job market of the future through targeted training and further education. These were the key messages of the most recent ZEW Lunch Debate on 23 October 2019 at the Representation of the State of Baden-Württemberg to the European Union in Brussels.

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Joining recent expert forums in Brussels, Canberra, Chicago and London, the German government in September set up the Berlin commission “Competition Law 4.0” to develop proposals for creating a regulatory framework that meets the challenges posed by the digital economy. Government agencies all around the world, including those in the United States, have ramped up efforts to reign in the leading online digital platforms and pass new competition law for the digital age. In Germany, legislators are currently working on the tenth amendment to the country’s Act Against Restraints of Competition (GWB), which like the previous set of revisions devotes much of its attention to the digital economy. From all these efforts, guidelines for an economic order for the digital economy can be derived.

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Sebastian Lazar, PhD, was a visiting researcher in ZEW’s Department “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance” from 2 September to 15 October 2019.

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