At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, global supply chains of firms came under increased public scrutiny. Pandemic-related production and transportation disruptions had put supply chains under severe pressure worldwide and were often associated with considerable economic costs. However, as the...

How prevalent is remote work on a global scale? What are the prevailing modes of working arrangements at present? What are the foremost advantages of working from home and on employer's business premises? Is there a need for policy intervention? Our new Global Survey of Working Arrangements...

The Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022 marked not only a turning point (Zeitenwende) for German security policy but also for German foreign economic policy. From a European standpoint, the war served as a painful reminder of how economic dependencies can be used as political leverage,...

How do German firms view the upcoming US election and a possible second Donald Trump presidency? As part of the ifo Business Survey in September 2024, more than 2,000 German manufacturing firms were asked about the US election. 44 percent of German manufacturing firms anticipate negative impacts...

The global economic environment has changed fundamentally over the past decade. Growing protectionism and geoeconomic tensions pose a major challenge, especially for the EU, whose foundations are based on openness, multilateralism, and cooperation. This policy brief presents four basic...

The current COVID-19 crisis has shown the importance of supply chain diversification to mitigate the negative effect of unexpected supply shocks. The decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union poses additional challenges to foreign trade: Irrespective of the outcome of the Brexit...