ifo Institute

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Shaping the Economic Debate

Newsbild, Konjunkturumfrage Ostdeutschland
News -

The ifo Business Climate Index Eastern Germany rose considerably in March by climbing to 90.0 points, up from 88.6 points in February. The eastern German companies surveyed provided assessments of their business situation that were somewhat better than the previous month, raising their business expectations slightly as well.

Newsbild, Einzelhandel
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The ifo Business Climate in retail brightened noticeably in March. The indicator for assessments of the current business situation rose to -7.3 points, up from -18.1 points in February. There was a clear improvement in business expectations, too. “Business in the run-up to Easter has apparently brought a ray of hope for many retailers,” explains ifo expert Patrick Höppner.

Cover Gemeinschaftsdiagnose
News -

The five leading economic research institutes believe that the German economy is in trouble. In their spring report, they have revised their forecast for the current year significantly downward and now only expect economic output to grow by 0.1%.

Ausbilder und Lehrling
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Companies in eastern Germany are more affected by the shortage of skilled workers than in the rest of the country, as new results from the ifo Business Survey show. 42.1% of companies in eastern Germany stated that their business was affected by a lack of skilled personnel. The figure for Germany as a whole was 36.3%.

Newsbild, Beschäftigungsbarometer
News -

Companies in Germany are again looking to hire more staff. The ifo Employment Barometer rose to 96.3 points in March, up from 94.9 points in February. “Companies are currently more willing to hire because they are better able to assess the economic conditions,” explains Klaus Wohlrabe, Head of Surveys at ifo.

75 Jahre ifo Feuerwerk

75 Years of ifo Institute

On January 24, the ifo Institute turned 75 years old. Throughout the year, numerous activities will tell the story of ifo’s and CESifo’s past, present, and future. They will feature interviews with people from across ifo, explore different places, and showcase ifo development milestones.

News

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Facts 22 Mar 2024

Sentiment in German companies has improved noticeably. The ifo Business Climate Index rose to 87.8 points in March, up from 85.7 points in February. In particular, companies’ expectations turned much less pessimistic. Assessments of the current business situation also improved. The German economy glimpses light on the horizon.

Publikation herunterladen
Publications 13 Mar 2024

Populist parties are currently gaining support in Germany and Europe. There is clearly growing dissatisfaction with moderate political forces and incumbent governments. What causes can be identified for the rise of populism?  What are the economic consequences? Can we specifically observe and measure the causes and consequences of populist politics? Are there ways for politicians to avert or mitigate negative developments?

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Event
15 Apr 2024
Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Munich and Upper Bavaria, Max-Joseph-Str. 2, 80333 Munich
Munich Economic Debate
Dr. Tina Klüwer, Federal Ministry of Education and Research

“International links and intensive cooperation between scholars form the basis for high-quality economic research with a real impact.”

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Clemens Fuest, President of the ifo Institute and Director of the Center for Economic Studies

Bild einer durch künstliche Intelligenz erstellten Echse

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence (AI): the technology of the future is finding its way into work and everyday life. It is supposed to make our lives easier. However, it also harbors risks in areas including control, data protection, and job losses.

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Our Experts

Discover our experts here. These ifo employees are designated contact persons for the public - in particular for the media, politics, business and science. They can provide information on specific topics covered by the ifo Institute.

Prof. Dr. Sarah Necker

Director of the Ludwig Erhard ifo Center for Social Market Economy and Institutional Economics
  • Public Economics
  • Labor Economics
  • Behavorial Economics
  • Economics of Science
CV Foto von Sarah Necker

Prof. Dr. Lisandra Flach

Director of the ifo Center for International Economics
  • Foreign Trade Policy
  • Empirical Foreign Trade Economics
CV Foto von Lisandra Flach

Prof. Dr. Andreas Peichl

Director of the ifo Center for Macroeconomics and Surveys
  • Public Economics
  • Taxation and Redistribution
  • Inequality
Prof. Dr. Andreas Peichl

Prof. Dr. Niklas Potrafke

Director of the ifo Center for Public Finance and Political Economy
  • Political Economy
  • Applied Econometrics
  • Public Finance
Prof. Dr. Niklas Potrafke

Prof. Helmut Rainer Ph.D.

Director of the ifo Center for Labor and Demographic Economics
  • Family Economics
  • Population Economics
  • Labor Economics
Prof. Helmut Rainer Ph.D.

Prof. Dr. Karen Pittel

Director of the ifo Center for Energy, Climate, and Resources
  • Energy
  • Exhaustible Resources
  • Growth
  • Sustainability
Prof. Dr. Karen Pittel

Prof. Panu Poutvaara Ph.D.

Director of the ifo Center for International Institutional Comparisons and Migration Research
  • Migration
  • Public Economics
  • Political Economics
  • Populism
Prof. Panu Poutvaara Ph.D.

Prof. Dr. Ludger Wößmann

Director of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education
  • Economics of Education
  • Economic Growth
  • Economic History
  • Economics of Religion
  • Labor Economics
  • Development Economics
  • Economic Policy
  • Policy Evaluation
  • Political Economy
  • Public Opinion Research
Sonstiges Foto von Ludger Wößmann

Prof. Dr. Oliver Falck

Director of the ifo Center for Industrial Organization and New Technologies
  • Innovation and Growth
  • Entrepreneurship
Prof. Dr. Oliver Falck

Prof. Dr. Marcel Thum

Director ifo Dresden
  • Public Economics
  • Labor Economics
  • Industrial Organization
Portrait Prof. Dr. Marcel Thum

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Clemens Fuest

President
  • Economic and Fiscal Policy
  • International Taxation
  • Tax Policy
  • European Integration
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Clemens Fuest

Research Data

Logo des LMU-ifo Economics Business Data Center
Overview

The Economics & Business Data Center (EBDC) is a combined platform for empirical research in business administration and economics of the Ludwig–Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and the ifo Institute. It aims to open up new fields for empirical research in business administration and economics.

Here you can find all research datasets offered by the EBDC including documentation as well as the data repository.

Big Data Economics
Overview

New insights through innovative datasets? Answers to economic questions in real time? With the help of new data sources and methods and thanks to collaboration with companies and public administration, research questions can be addressed faster, more precisely, and in greater depth.

Dr. Dittmer und Prof. Fuest auf dem Balkon des ifo Instituts
Article29 Jun 2023

The ifo Institute expected an economic recovery in 2022. Instead, everything got worse: a war in the heart of Europe that sparked an energy crisis and record inflation. What does this mean for the ifo Institute?

Illustration of the Cover of ifo Annual Report 2022
Article29 Jun 2023

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a new crisis superseded the coronavirus pandemic and defined the public debate. The impending gas and energy shortage fueled inflation, which the ifo Institute had highlighted back in 2021 in the context of the pandemic and supply bottlenecks. With our annual report 2022 we give a summary and provide an overview both of the development of the ifo Institute in the past year and of its additional research and work priorities. We have compiled a selection of the highlights from the annual report for you.

Logo des BMWK (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz)