Radical change in the world economy: Germany's future as a innovation and production location

Roland Berger, chairman of the eponymous consultancy firm and participant of the panel discussion at the Ifo Annual Meeting, pointed to the challenges and dangers of globalisation but also underscored the great opportunities it offers Germany. With the convergence of economic regions, new markets emerge. German firms are well positioned in international competition. But in the political realm, the pace of reform has unfortunately lost momentum under the "Grand Coalition". If the necessary political and economic reforms are not implemented in the coming years, Germany will face the same structural problems as in the past in the course of the next three to four years."