The number of start-ups in Germany has been at a historically low level for a decade. While there was an annual average of 240,000 new start-ups between 1995 and 2004, the number has fallen significantly in the following years to around 165,000. One explanation is demographic change, but another...

High-quality company data is crucial for state-of-the-art empirical research and competition, as well as for evidence-based policy advice, reliable forecasts and policy evaluations. In Germany, however, there are striking deficits in the availability of and access to company data compared to...

Innovation is crucial to economic development. Innovation expenditures in Germany's business sector as well as public funding for science and research have been increasing in the past decade. However, the share of businesses with innovations - especially among the small- and medium-sized ones -...