Not only has the shadow economy obviously been growing much more rapidly than the official economy in the Western industrialised countries, it also appears to have a growth cycle of its own, running counter to the official economy's growth cycle. This raises a number of important questions for...

The discussion on an increase of development aid is overshadowed by uneasiness about job opportunities at home. Against the demands for a sizeable increase of development aid funds it is often argued that such aid draws purchasing power away from the internal market if it is not tied to...

The structural changes in the world economy have made themselves increasingly felt in the Federal Republic of Germany over the past few years. For the first time since 1965 there is again a current account deficit, since merchandise trade is no longer able, due to the worsened terms of trade, to...

It has been observed since about 1976 that financial commitments to developing countries have been disbursed more slowly than in the past. At the same time there have been increasing complaints from recipients that the commitment, appraisal and disbursement procedures of the donor countries were...

During the course of 1980 West German enterprises and private persons were responsible for approximately DM 8.16 bn in foreign investments. The sum total of German foreign investments has now reached a level of DM 74.2 bn. Both these figures indicate the increasing internationalisation of the...

In the debate about relocation to the developing countries of “structurally weak” industries the clothing industry has attracted the special interest of academic and political economists in the Federal Republic of Germany. The following article constitutes a summary of the most important...

The rise in unemployment is often blamed not only on the slowdown in economic growth but also on the increasing pressure to rationalise. Greater rationalisation should, however, have led to an increase in labour productivity, but this has not happened in the Federal Republic of Germany nor in a...

Since 1970 the world economy has gone through a series of grave crises which have stimulated an intensive discussion about the economic and political relations between industrialized and developing countries. As seen from the Federal Republic of Germany, the witnessed events have not only an...