The Duration of the Restrictions on Public Life and the Normalization of the Business Situation: What Do Companies Expect?

As part of the ifo Business Survey, companies have been asked since April how long they expect public life to be restricted. From May onward, the survey also recorded the point in time from which companies expect their business situation to normalize. This article summarizes the results against the background of the various political decisions. According to the most recent results from January 2021, the average expectation was just under 7.4 months. Thus, a broad normalization is not expected until September at the earliest. Looking at their own business situation, companies do not expect normalization until the end of the year.