Mit dem Wachstumsbeschleunigungsgesetz vom Dezember 2009 ist ein drittes Maßnahmenpaket in die Wege geleitet worden, mit dessen Hilfe die Folgen des Wirtschaftseinbruchs im Jahr 2009 abgefedert bzw. diesen entgegen gewirkt werden sollte. Die darin enthaltenen steuerlichen Sofortmaßnahmen...

This paper challenges the institutional sclerosis view of the German crisis according to which rigid labour markets and generous welfare state institutions have driven Germany into its position as „Europe’s sick man“. In general, the view is not convincing, because the underlying...

The paper fundamentally challenges the institutional sclerosis explanation of the present German economic stagnation. Instead, we present a macroeconomic explanation focusing on the combined effects of too restrictive monetary policies, too restrictive and sometimes pro- cyclical fiscal policies...

After almost a quarter of a century since the fall of the Berlin wall, Germany has undoubtedly become the uncontested nerve-centre of the European Union (EU) in both economic and political terms, evolving not only as Europe’s most important economic power, but also as its de facto leader in...

This paper outlines a proposal for a system of work sharing that would give employers an incentive to maintain workers on their payroll at reduced hours as an alternative to laying them off. The system would be attached to the existing system of unemployment compensation, with shorttime...

In an influential paper Mankiw, Romer, and Weil (1992) argue that the evidence on the international disparity in levels of per capita income and rates of growth is consistent with a standard Solow model, once it has been augmented to include human capital as an accumulable factor. In a study on...

US labor productivity in ICT-skill intensive industries experienced tremendous increases in post-1995 trend growth compared to Germany, while other (non-ICT-skill intensive) industries showed similar growth trends in both countries. Examining the source of industry productivity growth in German...