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In the spring semester of 2020, ZEW once again offered five summer courses for young researchers, which took place entirely online this year. Over 80 young researchers from ZEW and the University of Mannheim participated in the courses dedicated to current economic issues. The ZEW Summer Courses, financially supported by the state of Baden-Württemberg, are part of a close cooperation with the University of Mannheim as part of the PhD track of the Center for Doctoral Studies in Economics (CDSE).

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The coronavirus pandemic has brought on the worst recession in Germany since the Second World War. Many companies have managed to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to government aid. The pandemic is hitting young, less established companies, such as startups, particularly hard.

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The significance of the People’s Republic of China has risen significantly over the past years. China’s engagement in global policy issues – ranging from the international economic system and the economic development of African economies to the challenges associated with environmental and climate protection – plays a crucial role for Germany and Europe. In the #ZEWPodcast “Wirtschaft • Forschung • Debatten”/“Economy • Research • Debates”, ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach provides insight into the influence of the Chinese economic model on the European economy. He sheds light on how competition with Chinese companies impacts on European firms and the role Chinese state capitalism plays in this context, and offers suggestions on how to regulate trade relations and business activities between Chinese and European firms. While this edition was published in German, there are plans to produce English editions of the podcast as well.

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The COVID-19 pandemic requires joint action from the EU Member States – for both health protection and to respond to the crisis with appropriate economic policy measures. The “Next Generation EU” recovery fund and the “Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme” (PEPP) of the ECB are at the heart of the joint efforts to stabilise the European economy. At the #ZEWlive event on 10 November 2020, Dr. Sylvie Goulard, deputy governor of the Banque de France, and ZEW expert Professor Friedrich Heinemann discussed whether these programmes can help overcome the crisis. The discussion revealed that while these support programmes are effective in the short term, they are not sufficiently well-targeted to address the long-term causes of weak growth and the lack of resilience. The event was supported by the Brigitte Strube Stiftung.

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Some 20 years ago, 3G cellular frequencies were auctioned in Germany for more than 100 billion marks. The auction and the unbelievable sum it raised were novel back then. Since then, broadband frequency auctions have been the norm. As recently as last year, broadband frequencies were auctioned off once again, this time for 5G technology applications.

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The coronavirus pandemic has put the economy, society and policymakers under considerable pressure. Against this background, ifo President Professor Clemens Fuest presented his recently published book “Wie wir unsere Wirtschaft retten. Der Weg aus der Corona-Krise” (“How to Save the Economy. The Way Out of the Coronavirus Crisis”) in an online event on 26 October 2020 at ZEW Mannheim – marking the kick-off of the new #ZEWBookTalk series. In the subsequent discussion with ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach, Fuest expressed his criticism of the German government’s current tendency towards interventionist economic policy measures. The difficulties in overcoming the coronavirus-induced recession lie in the fact that the measures adopted are not well-targeted and that there is not enough economic data on the regional impact of the crisis, he argued.

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How can tax systems create the right incentives for a sustainable economy and society while ensuring that government spending is sufficiently covered? These are some of the questions addressed at this year’s Annual Conference of the Leibniz ScienceCampus MannheimTaxation. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the conference, which attracted over 260 participants from all over the world, was held exclusively online for the first time.

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According to information provided by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the coronavirus contact-tracing app has been downloaded more than 18 million times. In light of the rise in infection rates, there is hope that the app will facilitate the tracking of chains of infection in the cold winter months ahead and that it will help to control outbreaks of the virus.

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Accompanied by the weekly protests from the Fridays for Future movement, the German government debated various climate policy instruments and measures within the scope of its so-called “Climate Cabinet” in 2019. The final result was the climate package, a compromise that evoked both praise as well as strong criticism in the public discussion. Students at the University of Mannheim got to know which precise balance of interests, conflicting goals, strategies, and political effects should be taken into account when developing an effective climate policy on a national scale during the “Climate Cabinet” simulation game at ZEW Mannheim on 10 October 2020.

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Within the space of a few days in September, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German economic minister Peter Altmaier both publicly called for the creation of a climate-neutral economy by 2050. Each of their proposed initiatives focuses on augmenting CO2 reductions. But the success of European and German climate policies will depend on more than meeting climate targets alone.

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