News

The rapid expansion of renewables has created new challenges for security of supply. Long-term forward contracts could help to address them.

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US President Biden’s push to waive patent rights for coronavirus vaccines has provoked a heated debate about ways to improve the vaccine supply, especially in developing countries. But would waiving patent rights actually be an appropriate instrument? Proponents argue that exclusive patent rights are partially responsible for the catastrophic lack of coronavirus vaccine in many countries. By contrast, opponents of a patent protection waiver insist that the vaccine shortage has nothing to do with patents, but has instead resulted from inadequate production capacity.

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The coronavirus pandemic is largely the result of an information problem. If we identified everyone who was infected, it would be easier to prevent viral transmission. Unfortunately, Germany has failed to prioritise the one measure that could close the information gap: testing.

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The new state government has been elected and is now preparing to take office. The structural change in the economy, which has picked up considerable pace as a result of the pandemic, will pose a major challenge for policymakers. Dealing with these challenges will determine whether Germany will be able to ensure prosperity in times of change.

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‘Exponential growth’ should have been the expression of the year 2020. In the mathematics courses of coming decades, the coronavirus is sure to serve as a prime example of exponential growth. Yet the virus is not the only factor in our lives that exhibits an exponential growth function.

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Germany ended its EU Council presidency by launching fireworks one day earlier than expected: on 30 December, the EU and China agreed to the terms of a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), thus concluding seven years of negotiations. However, further steps that involve the US are necessary.

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One year ago, the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Wuhan. Since then, more than 65 million people worldwide have been infected with the virus, the death toll has passed 1.5 million, and the global economy is experiencing its biggest slump since the end of World War II.

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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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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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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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