News

Christmas is just around the corner and the annual hunt for presents has begun. But what does economics say about the sense and nonsense of gift-giving? Should the tradition of gift-giving be abolished from a rational point of view – or is there a good justification for it? This was the subject of discussion of a Christmas lecture by ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach and Professor Axel Ockenfels, economist at the University of Cologne, at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim.

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How can we design a sustainable tax system that can meet future economic and societal challenges on the national, European and global level? This is one of the questions addressed at the fifth international annual MaTax conference in Mannheim in the beginning of October 2018. The conference was organised by ZEW and the University of Mannheim within the framework of the Leibniz ScienceCampus “Mannheim Taxation” (MaTax).

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The Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation jointly organised this year's Beijing Humboldt Forum in the Chinese capital on 15–16 September 2018. Within the framework of the event, ZEW organised a session entitled “Assessing the Economic Impact of Environmental and Innovation Policies in China and Europe”. During the session, ZEW researchers engaged in a discussion with international guests regarding the role of environmental, energy and innovation policies for the economic development of the EU and China.

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A small stretch of land between the Californian cities of San Francisco and San Jose has been setting the pace for digital transformation around the globe. Often referred to as Silicon Valley, this small area is home to the headquarters of the world’s leading tech firms and start-ups and around a quarter of all venture capital worldwide. The question is, what can Germany learn from the example of Silicon Valley and how can we use this knowledge and the resources we already possess to avoid falling (further) behind in this technological race to the top? Finding new strategies and digital solutions for German businesses was the focus of an event organised jointly by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim, and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour and Housing held at the Baden-Württembergische (BW) Bank in Stuttgart.

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On 17 January 2018, Professor Achim Wambach, president of the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), will be attending the annual Leibniz Economic Summit in Berlin, where he will debate the effects of digitalisation on the economy and the labour market with the heads of other German economic research institutions also belonging to the Leibniz Association.

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The Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation jointly organised this year’s Beijing Humboldt Forum in the Chinese capital from 16 to 18 September 2017. As part of the forum, ZEW organised a session entitled “Implementing the Paris Agreement – The Role of the European Union and China“. During the session, ZEW researcher Dr. Sebastian Voigt and ZEW Research Associate Professor Andreas Löschel engaged in a discussion with international guests regarding the role of China and the EU in international climate policy, especially with regard to the Paris Climate Agreement.

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The Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) contributed actively to the 2017 Annual Conference of the Verein für Socialpolitik (VfS, German Economic Association) held at the University of Vienna from 3 to 6 September, with ZEW researchers providing a total of 18 presentations. In addition to the presentations, ZEW also hosted an information stand at the conference site, which offered VfS participants the opportunity to catch up on research, publications, events, and career possibilities at ZEW. This year’s conference, which gathered around 800 participants, focused on the core topic Alternative Structures for Money and Banking.

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The Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation jointly organised this year's Beijing Humboldt Forum (BHF), which will take place in the Chinese capital on September 16–18, 2017. This year, the forum will focus on topics such as green economy, cultural heritage, clean energy and carbon markets. The BHF aims to strengthen the research cooperation between Germany and China in these fields.

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What kind of growth might we see in China’s economy in the short to medium term? Will the Chinese economy be able to continue this success in the long term? What reforms are necessary to cushion the effects of social upheaval? These were just some of the questions addressed by prominent experts from the worlds of politics, economics and research in a podium discussion on 26 June 2017. ZEW welcomed more than 100 guests to the event, which was held in collaboration with the Baden Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Housing at the Haus der Wirtschaft in Stuttgart.

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Your Economy, Your Governance, Your Society, Your Environment – these were the topics up for discussion at the Southwest regional qualification round of the Young Economic Summit (YES!), a nationwide competition for high school students. The event, which took place on 23 June 2017, was hosted by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim. The students presented their ideas for how to solve the most pressing global economic issues and had the opportunity to discuss them with experts in the field of economics.

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