ifo Media Center
The ifo Institute invites you to participate in the discussion of interesting economic topics via the Internet. In our ifo Media Center a whole series of remarkable events are available and can be viewed in full length. We also record selected speeches and presentations given by employees or at events and make them available in our Media Center.
ifo Viewpoint 251: The Equity Pension – How It Can Mitigate the Demographic Problem of German Pension Insurance
Demographic change poses major challenges for German pension insurance: if fewer and fewer contributors face more and more pensioners, contribution rates will have to rise or pension benefits will have to fall. If the aim is to avoid both these outcomes, the pension fund will have to be supported from outside. Up to now, this has been done primarily through subsidies from the federal budget – a method that is increasingly reaching its limits. The German government now wants to help stabilize pension finances with what is known as the equity pension.
ifo Viewpoint 250: Can Economic Growth and Ecological Sustainability Coexist?
Is long-term economic growth compatible with ecologically sustainable development? This question stands as one of the most debated issues of our time. Over the past decades, growth driven by economic liberalization and globalization has brought prosperity to billions and reduced global poverty. However, this positive trajectory has come at a high cost to the environment and the depletion of natural resources. The limitations of economic growth at the expense of the environment are evident. Sustainable economic prosperity can only be achieved in the long run if it is coupled with ecological sustainability.
„FamData“ – a database for research on family businesses (2023)
Replication files for Downward Revision of Investment Decisions after Corporate Tax Hikes
ifo Viewpoint 249: Four-Day Work Week? No Longer in Keeping with the Times!
Debates about the number of working days per week are nothing unusual in Germany. In the 1950s, the six-day week was the norm until the unions pushed through the reduction of working hours with the slogan “On Saturday, daddy belongs to me.” After many decades in which the five-day week was the norm, Germany and other countries are now intensively discussing the introduction of a four-day week.
ifo Viewpoint 248: The Energy Efficiency Law – A Growth Killer?
Germany’s energy policymakers are currently in the process of passing what’s known as the Energy Efficiency Act. In doing so, they are following the requirements of an EU directive. Contrary to the name, this law does not primarily regulate energy efficiency; rather, it caps the country’s total energy consumption. Final energy consumption is to be reduced significantly by 2030: by 26.5 percent compared with consumption in 2008, and by around 22 percent compared with today. It does not matter whether the energy comes from climate-neutral sources (such as wind or sun) or from fossil fuels.
ifo Viewpoint 247: The German Economic Model – Decline or Second Economic Miracle?
What is the future of Germany’s economic model? The Russian attack on Ukraine has triggered a debate about the further development of prosperity in Germany.
ifo Viewpoint 246: The Current Banking Quake: Where Does It Come from and What Should Policy Makers Do?
The crises at Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse have shaken the world of finance. While policymakers and central banks are being placatory, the markets are not calming down. Banks that very recently seemed healthy are running into liquidity problems.
Personnel Manager Survey (2022)
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ifo Business Survey Industry (2022b)
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ifo Business Survey Trade (2022b)
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ifo Business Survey Service (2022b)
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ifo Business Survey Construction (2022b)
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EBDC Business Expectations Panel (2022)
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EBDC Business Investment Panel (2022)
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ifo Viewpoint 245: Why a Reform of the German Corporate Tax System Is Urgently Needed
The current crises have led to a debate about the future of Germany’s business model and German industry. Rising energy prices, disrupted foreign trade, and the US IRA subsidy program raise the question of what needs to be done to maintain Germany’s competitiveness as a location for companies and highly productive jobs.
ifo Viewpoint 244: Europe’s Industrial Policy and the Response to IRA
Europe is seeing a renaissance in industrial policy. Industrial policy usually involves influencing an economy’s sectoral development by means of subsidies, partial state ownership of companies, or regulations. It can also include promoting mergers of companies to form national champions – large companies which are supposed to conquer the world’s markets with their governments’ support. It’s also common to bar foreign investors from taking over domestic companies that are deemed strategically important.
ifo Viewpoint 243: Higher Wages May Help Overcome the Shortage of Skilled Workers!
There is currently intense debate in many countries about a shortage of skilled workers. For instance in Germany, despite record employment figures, according to surveys by the ifo Institute, close to 50 percent of companies say they are constrained by a shortage of skilled workers ¬– also an all-time high. From an economic perspective, there is a simple answer to shortages: higher prices.
ifo Investment Survey Industry (2022)
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ifo Viewpoint 242: Wanted: Geoeconomic Strategy for Trade Relations
The planned investment by the Chinese state-owned group Cosco in HLLA, the operator of the Port of Hamburg, has triggered a fierce dispute. Critics of the investment argue that the Chinese government would gain unwanted control over the port facilities. Supporters, meanwhile, maintain that it is only a minority stake and that the German government is in a position to impose conditions on port operators, regardless of who the owner is.
