News

ZEW Mannheim mourns the death of Professor Horst Entorf, who died unexpectedly at the age of 64. Entorf was closely connected to ZEW for many years, supervising the doctoral theses of many researchers at the institute and frequently working on ZEW research projects.

Read more

Be it the euro crisis, Brexit, the rise of populist parties in the European Parliament, or growing divisions in Europe – European voters increasingly question how the EU is tackling such problems. But what is the reason for the loss of confidence in the EU’s problem-solving ability? One explanation for this could be the way the institutions operate. EU citizens are critical of the way decisions are taken at EU level. One must also ask whether the Commission’s exclusive right of legislative initiative in almost all policy areas is still sustainable. What is the public opinion on a bicameral system, consisting of the Council of the European Union and the EU Parliament? And regarding the European Court of Justice, does the public support the primacy of EU versus national norms? Finally, would the EU find greater acceptance in the Member States if an institutional reform were carried out?

Read more

We are currently experiencing the fourth industrial revolution, as the radical breakthrough of artificial intelligence (AI) has taken digitalisation to a new level. Intelligent systems are connecting with each other in real time, they are capable of dealing with everyday situations and even develop creativity. And this is only the beginning. This was the main message of the talk held by Professor Sabina Jeschke, member of the Management Board for Digitalization and Technology at Deutsche Bahn AG, at ZEW Mannheim as part of the event series “First-Hand Information on Economic Policy”.

Read more

At its extraordinary general meeting on 5 February 2020, the ZEW Sponsors’ Association, “Förderkreis Wissenschaft und Praxis am Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung e.V.”, decided to change its name. The association, which is dedicated to promoting the dialogue between science and practice, is now called “ZEW – Förderkreis Wissenschaft und Praxis e.V.”.

Read more

ZEW Mannheim and the University of Strasbourg, one of France’s universities of excellence, officially sealed their long-standing cooperation today. Professor Catherine Florentz, Vice-President for Research and Doctoral Education at the University of Strasbourg, ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach and ZEW Director Thomas Kohl signed the cooperation agreement in Strasbourg.

Read more

At her annual New Year’s address, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel renewed her commitment to climate action: “I will do everything in my power to ensure that Germany does its part – ecologically, economically, societally – to get climate change under control.” Climate policy is becoming increasingly important in Germany. In August 2019, the Cabinet passed the Structural Development Act for German coal-mining regions; three months later, it rolled out a new climate bill. What is more, federal and state authorities recently agreed on a timetable for phasing out coal.

Read more

It’s not just a new year, but a new decade. What’s in store for Germany, Europe, and the world? In his first New Year’s Lecture at ZEW Mannheim on Thursday, 23 January, ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach talked about which developments will determine the global economy in the near future – and how the EU can position itself to compete with the other two major economic powers, China and the USA.

Read more

A delegation of the FDP/DVP parliamentary group in the state parliament of Baden-Württemberg, headed by Professor Erik Schweickert MdL, chairman of the economic committee of the state parliament, and Gabriele Reich-Gutjahr MdL, economic policy spokeswoman, visited ZEW on 14 January 2020.

Read more

Barbara Boggiano is a visiting researcher in ZEW’s Research Department “Labour Markets and Human Resources” on a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) from 1 October 2019 to 31 July 2020. She is a PhD candidate in economics at the University of Leicester, UK. Her research interests lie in the fields of applied microeconometrics, as well as labour and health economics.

Read more

Be it the climate emergency, Green Deal, climate conference, or the climate package: Germany is taking climate policy seriously. On 13 January 2020, Peter Altmaier, Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy, gave a talk at ZEW Mannheim about where the Federal Republic of Germany stands in terms of climate policy, the energy transition, and how it should all progress. Within the context of the research project “Dialogue on the Economics of Climate Change”, Altmaier spoke at ZEW as part of its First-Hand Information on Economic Policy event series before an audience of some 220 guests from the realms of business, science and society. How to shape a successful energy transition in Germany, how democratic climate policy is implemented nationally and internationally, and what role Germany has to play in all of this were focal points of the talk.

Read more