DIW Economic Bulletin

Financial Sector: Share of Women on Corporate Boards Increases Slightly but Men Still Call the Shots

In 2015, the share of women in the top decision-making bodies of the financial sector increased once again but men remain in the overwhelming majority and thus continue to call the shots. At the end of 2015, women made up just under eight percent of executive board members of the 100 largest banks in Germany. The corresponding figure for the 59 largest insurance companies was a good nine percent. In ...

Higher Shares of Women on Corporate Boards Still a Long Way Off: Eight Questions to Elke Holst

Corporate Boards of Large Companies: More Momentum Needed for Gender Parity

Germany’s large corporations still have a long way to go before achieving balanced representation of men and women on their boards. At the end of 2015, the share of women on the executive boards of the top 200 companies in Germany was a good six percent, an increase of less than one percentage point over 2014. The share of women on the supervisory boards of these top 200 companies was almost 20 percent ...

Ganzes Heft

Development of Top Incomes in Germany since 2001: Seven Questions to Charlotte Bartels

Development of Top Incomes in Germany since 2001

What share of total income in Germany is owned by the country’s top income earners and how has this share developed over the past decade? Answers to these questions can be found both in representative survey data such as the longitudinal Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study and in administrative data on income taxation. After the statistics have been harmonized accordingly, it becomes clear there remain ...

Ganzes Heft

Germany Economy Growing at Slightly Above-Average Rate: Eight Questions to Simon Junker

Domestic Demand Drives German Economy

The German economy is expected to grow by 1.7 percent this year, and to maintain this pace in 2016 as well. The rate of growth should slow down slightly (to 1.5 percent) in 2017, but only because the number of working days will be lower due to the timing of public holidays. The global economy is growing at a slower pace than it has been in recent years, but will pick up speed during the forecast period. ...

Ganzes Heft

The Construction Industry Continues Its Upward Trend: Seven Questions to Claus Michelsen

German Construction Industry: Refurbishment Lacks Momentum, New Residential Construction Gets Second Wind

The construction industry has been a key pillar of the German economy in recent years. New residential construction played a major part in this with the volume of new construction growing nominally by over 60 percent between 2010 and 2014. The development of construction work on existing residential buildings was less dynamic, however, with just under ten-percent growth between 2010 and 2014. A key ...

Ganzes Heft

Liquefied Natural Gas Will Have to Play a Larger Role in the Future: Six Questions to Franziska Holz

Earthquakes in the Netherlands Cannot Shake the European Natural Gas Market

The rising number of earthquakes in the northeastern part of the Netherlands has been attributed to the extraction of natural gas from the Groningen field. This has led tostrong opposition to natural gas production from the Dutch population, a matter that is increasingly preoccupying not only policy-makers on the local and provincial levels,but also the central government. In response, the Dutch government ...

Ganzes Heft

Global Climate Targets Achievable without Nuclear Power: Seven Questions to Claudia Kemfert

European Climate Targets Achievable without Nuclear Power

The upcoming Climate Change Conference in Paris will once again highlight the need for action to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in order to mitigate climate change. The relevant global energy scenarios are often still based on the assumption that the expansion of nuclear power can contribute to climate change mitigation. The spiraling investment and operating costs of nuclear plants, the unresolved ...

Ganzes Heft

Integrating Refugees: A Long-Term, Worthwhile Investment

The debate about the massive influx of refugees into Germany often focuses solely on the short-term costs. But while these expenditures are bound to be substantial inthe coming years, the discussion neglects the long-term economic potential of a successful integration of refugees—often, young people—which can transform the initial expenditure into a worthwhile investment. Even if many of the refugees’ ...