This paper reports the results of a survey among private sector economists about credibility and transparency of central banks. In line with the survey of Alan Blinder among central bankers, we asked participants in Ifo s World Economic Survey to answer questions on the importance and...

No one seems to be neutral about the effects of EMU on the German economy. Roughly speaking, there are two camps: those who see the euro as the advent of a newly open, large, and efficient regime which will lead to improvements in European and in particular in German competitiveness; those who...

This note reviews the legal issues and concerns that are likely to play an important role in the ongoing deliberations of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany concerning the legality of ECB government bond purchases such as those conducted in the context of its earlier Securities Market...

The Covid-19 pandemic hitting the world in 2020 also caused a high death toll in Germany and in the European Monetary Union (EMU) at large. The health crisis worldwide and the precautions against Covid-19 rapidly induced a demand and supply recession simultaneously. The Covid-19 crisis was...

This paper reviews the performance of the euro area since the euro's launch 20 years ago. It argues that the euro crisis has exposed existential flaws in the euro regime. Intra-area divergences and the corresponding buildup of imbalances had remained unchecked prior to the crisis. As those...

Zu hohe Schulden der privaten Haushalte und Unternehmen haben maßgeblich zum Ausbruch und Verlauf der Finanzkrise beigetragen. Um eine Wiederholung zu vermeiden, wird die private Verschuldung inzwischen überwacht. Betrachtet wird dabei primär die Schuldenhöhe. Ihre Struktur (d. h....