News

This year, the grand final of the YES! high school student competition was held digitally from 21 to 23 September 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. This did, however, not break the spirit of the YES! competition; quite the contrary, the students were highly motivated to present their innovative ideas and discuss them with economic experts, turning this year’s grand finale into a special event despite not being physically present. With their proposal for a procedure to effectively allocate childcare places, the student team mentored by ZEW Mannheim took the second place.

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The European Green Deal is an ambitious climate action plan by the European Union. Its implementation leaves a number of questions unanswered. During the European Evening at ZEW Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of Science, Theresia Bauer, former EU Commissioner, Günther H. Oettinger, as well as the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Ottmar Edenhofer, and president of ZEW, Achim Wambach, discussed what exactly is needed in order for Europe to become carbon neutral by 2050. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an exclusive group of participants comprising 30 guests was permitted to attend the event in person. Individuals who were interested in the event, but were not able to physically attend, were still able to follow the opening ceremony of the closure of the SEEK research programme via a live stream from their screens at home. Journalist Johannes Pennekamp moderated the panel discussion at the event.

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Five years ago, Angela Merkel coined the now famous phrase “Wir schaffen das” (“We can do it”) in the midst of a crisis situation, as more and more migrants made their journey to Europe on the Balkan route. But what can the countries that take in immigrants do to integrate them? What consequences can be expected from accepting and integrating immigrants with regard to the attitudes towards migration issues in these countries? These and other questions were discussed at the international workshop “Immigration, Integration and Attitudes” that took place on 22 and 23 September 2020 at ZEW Mannheim.

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Dr. Laura Pohlan, a researcher in the ZEW Research Group “Market Design”, received the 2020 “Forschungspreis Soziale Markwirtschaft” (“Social Market Economy Research Award”) by the Roman Herzog Institute (RHI) Munich on 7 October 2020. She was awarded the third prize for her dissertation on the social consequences of unemployment and the effects of direct and indirect state measures on employment. She wrote her dissertation while still working in the ZEW Research Department “Labour Markets and Human Resources”. The award ceremony was held online.

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Young companies are particularly hard hit by the coronavirus crisis, since firms that have not been in the market for a long time are less able to cushion the effects of the crisis. Especially innovative high-tech firms face a great number of challenges. As these start-up companies create knowledge and develop new technologies, it would be very damaging for the German economy if they do not survive the crisis, explains ZEW economist Jürgen Egeln. In the latest episode of the #ZEWPodcast he talks about how young and innovative companies are suffering from the current crisis and what support measures they need. While this editions was published in German, there are plans to produce English editions of the podcast as well.

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The German Real Estate Financing Index (DIFI) of ZEW Mannheim and JLL rises again, but remains in negative territory at minus 36 points. After a slight decline in the sentiment indicator at the beginning of the year (by minus 3.7 points) to minus 18.9 points, and a plunge of 37.8 points in the second quarter to an index level of minus 56.7 points, the DIFI has now improved by more than 20 points in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter. At present, however, the indicator continues to remain below the values registered since the the survey began in 2011.

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Economics has now also come to the schools of North Rhine-Westphalia. Starting in the school year 2020/21, economics is to become a mandatory subject in all secondary schools in this state – North Rhine-Westphalia is taking the step that Baden-Württemberg took four years ago.

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The German Federal Cabinet has adopted a draft law for the introduction of a digital pension platform. An information portal will be set up under the German Pension Authority (Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund) in order to cover all three pillars of old-age provision, namely statutory, occupational, and private. The portal should be able to show how much money you have saved and what monthly pension payments you can expect at retirement. In this interview, ZEW economist Professor Tabea Bucher-Koenen talks about why a digital pension platform is so important.

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Since the coronavirus-related shutdown in spring, companies and employees in Germany have made extensive use of remote working. In the digital event #ZEWlive, Professor Irene Bertschek, head of the ZEW Research Department “Digital Economy”, and Luka Mucic, CFO of SAP SE, discussed how the experience gained during the coronavirus crisis could be of benefit in the long term. This edition of the #ZEWlive digital event series focused on “COVID-19 and the Digital Economy: The Crisis as an Opportunity?”. The event was moderated by the journalist Elif Şenel and attracted about 150 spectators, who could participate in the discussion via chat.

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The German Federal Cabinet plans to introduce a digital pension platform, having already adopted a draft law to this end. An information portal will be set up under the German Pension Authority (Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund) in order to cover all three pillars of old-age provision, namely statutory, occupational, and private. The portal should be able to show how much money you have saved and what monthly pension payments you can expect at retirement. In the latest episode of the #ZEWPodcast, ZEW economist Professor Tabea Bucher-Koenen talks about why a digital pension platform is important and how knowledge about financial topics affects saving for old age. While the first three editions were published in German, there are plans to produce English editions of the podcast as well.

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