Publikationen des Vorstandsbereichs

I Find the Term "Quota Woman" Unobjective: Eight Questions to Norma Schmitt

Towards a Gender Quota

In 2016, a fixed gender quota will come into force in Germany, affecting the supervisory boards of listed companies that also have employee representation (full codetermination).1 By as early as September 30, 2015, however, all companies will be obliged to set a self-imposed target quota – even companies that meet just one of these criteria; i.e., either listed or subject to codetermination. A variety ...

Germany Particularly Affected by Current Influx of Refugees: Five Questions to Karl Brenke

Distribution of Refugees Very Uneven among EU Member States - Even When Accounting for Economic Strength and Total Population

The European Union is currently experiencing its largest influx of asylum seekers in years. Yet the distribution of these refugees across the member states is highly uneven: Large countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Spain, as well as the Eastern European countries (apart from Hungary), have received relatively few asylum seekers. Far more refugees are headed to Central Europe, ...

DIW Economic Outlook

The German economy is on track, and will likely grow by 1.8 percent this year; in the coming year, with a slight increase in dynamics, it will grow by 1.9 percent. With these figures DIW Berlin confirms its forecast from this summer. Employment growth continues; the unemployment rate will decrease this year to 6.4 percent, where it will remain in 2016. Due to the sharp drop in oil prices this year, ...

Only One in Eight Workers Is Dissatisfied with His or Her Job: Seven Questions to Karl Brenke

The Vast Majority of Employees in Germany Are Satisfied with Their Jobs

The vast majority of workers rate their professional occupations positively; only one in eight is unhappy with his or her job. This has been the case for the past 20 years. There is little difference in the degree of satisfaction between genders, workers in West Germany and East Germany, or among different age groups. Even the level of compensation and the nature of the work itself do not exert any ...

A Critical Retrospective: German Monetary Union

Twenty-five years ago, East Germany adopted the deutschmark as its currency. In terms of East German economic development, monetary union proved to be a disaster. With virtually no warning, East Germany’s few productive factories and businesses were exposed to free market competition; industrial production collapsed in a way unparalleled in history. Nevertheless, for political reasons, introducing ...

There Are Many Analogies between the GDR in 1990 and Greece Today: Four Questions to Marcel Fratzscher

Lessons for Europe from German Monetary Union

Precisely 25 years ago, on July 1, 1990, German monetary union came into force. On the same day, capital controls in Europe were abolished, creating the basis for European monetary union and the euro. These two historical events fundamentally changed Germany and the rest of Europe. Both German and European monetary union were and still are being heavily criticized and debated. Was the design of German ...