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Germany is experiencing a strong economic upswing. This is a key finding of the Joint Economic Forecast released by Germany’s leading economic research institutes. ZEW is a contributor to the forecast, which is prepared on behalf of the German government. Dr. Marcus Kappler, who heads up ZEW's involvement in the Joint Economic Forecast, explains the forecast's findings. Following his economics studies in Tübingen, Maryland (USA) and Berlin, Dr. Marcus Kappler obtained his doctorate in 2007 from Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main. Since 2002, Kappler has been employed at ZEW as the deputy director of the research group Growth and Business Cycles. His research focuses in particular on the reliability of business cycle forecasts, structural unemployment, and factors that influence production potentials.

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On 19-20 May 2011, the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) hosted the fourth Conference on the Economics of Innovation and Patenting. It was also the closing conference of the research network STRIKE funded by the EU funding organisation COST. The conference was attended by more than 110 researchers from Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. The conference’s excellent reputation within the world of economics was reflected in the over 170 research papers submitted, of which 48 were chosen to be presented at the conference. The conference itself covered a wide range of topics approached from both a theoretical and empirical perspective.

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In mid-May 2011, ZEW welcomed a three person delegation of Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development from the United Arab Emirates. The delegation swapped ideas with ZEW President Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Wolfgang Franz and the heads of the ZEW departments International Finance and Financial Management, Labour Markets, Human Resources and Social Policy, Corporate Taxation and Public Finance, and Growth and Business Cycles. The meeting aimed at identifying joint research interests and exploring the possibilities for future cooperation.

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Particularly on the international stage, Germany has been accused of weariness with the European project. At times, it is hard to avoid the impression that other European nations measure Germany’s enthusiasm for Europe by the extent to which we are willing to instantly shoulder the burden of various financial rescue packages. Those harbouring such feelings toward Germany point on the one hand to low growth in German unit labour costs, which is said to be unfair to other European countries, and, on the other hand, to our high trade surpluses, which are touted as proof of how much we have benefited from the euro. We should thus be happy to show a measure of gratitude, the logic goes. Yet both of these perceptions are flawed.

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From 6 April to 24 May 2011 Van Anh Vuong is a visiting researcher at the ZEW research department "Industrial Economics and International Management". Miss Anh Vuong is a PhD student at the Pennsylvania State University, US. Her main research topics cover the fields of applied microeconomics and industrial organisation. She was a visiting researcher at ZEW last year and now resumes her position to continue working on a joint research project on the relationship between innovation, export, and productivity in German companies.

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From 18 to 24 May 2011 Mark Roberts is a visiting researcher at the ZEW research department "Industrial Economics and International Management". Mark Roberts is professor of economics at the Pennsylvania State University, US, and research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). His main fields of research interests are applied microeconomics and industrial organisation, in particular export, trade, and productivity. During his research stay, he is working on a joint research project on the relationship between innovation, export, and productivity in German companies.

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From 1 May to 30 September 2011, Andrea Cocchi is visiting researcher at the ZEW research department "Industrial Economics and International Management". He is a PhD candidate at Newcastle University Business School, UK. His research focus lies on innovation intermediaries in the regional innovation systems. The comparison of the Emilia-Romagna region and Baden-Wurttemberg is a focal point of his research activities. During his stay at ZEW, Mr. Cocchi will work on the analysis of the comparison region Baden-Württemberg, including collecting relevant information and conducting interviews.

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The horrific news reports and images from Japan’s nuclear disaster are disturbing, yet it would be unwise to rely on the advice of the Cassandras in our midst. What is instead needed is a reassessment of nuclear energy in light of the following two questions: What lessons can be drawn from the catastrophe in Japan with regard to the safety of nuclear power plants closer to home? Moreover, what alternatives to nuclear power do we have, and how viable are they both technically and economically?

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Credit rating agencies are powerful. Their judgements determine the conditions under which a country can borrow money on international capital markets. Prof. Dr. Michael Schröder, head of the department of International Financial Markets and Financial Management at ZEW, explains how rating agencies work and how they can be better monitored. Prof. Dr. Michael Schröder is head of the department of International Financial Markets and Financial Management at ZEW. His research interests include the empirical analysis of capital markets, expectation formation in financial markets, sustainable investment, and asset management for charitable foundations. In 2009, he completed his Habilitation at the University of Stuttgart in business administration. Prof. Dr. Schröder teaches at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management in the area of Asset Management.

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The Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) is hosting the fourth Conference on the Economics of Innovation and Patenting in Mannheim on 19-20 May 2011. The event, which will be held in English, also serves as the closing conference for the EU-wide research network STRIKE. The aim of the conference is to promote a deeper understanding of growth processes driven by innovation and to analyse the effects of potential innovation policies. The thematic focus of the conference is on the political implications of recent research findings and on encouraging the dialogue between international researchers conducting empirical and theoretical research in this field.

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