Das Jahr 2011 zählt für die Bauwirtschaft zu den wachstumsstärksten Jahren seit der Wiedervereinigung. Für das Gesamtjahr wird mit einem Zuwachs des Bauvolumens um nominal fast acht Prozent gerechnet. Die Preissteigerung dürfte bei gut 2,5 Prozent liegen. Das reale Bauvolumen wird damit...

Economic policy makers, international organisations and private-sector forecasters commonly use short-term forecasts of real GDP growth based on monthly indicators, such as industrial production, retail sales and confidence surveys. An assessment of the reliability of such tools and of the...

The main focus of this paper is the relation between the cyclical components of total revenues and expenditures and the budget balance in France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain. We try to uncover past trends behind the development of public finances that contribute to explaining the current stance...

This paper uses a two-step approach to characterize the evolution of US macroeconomic and financial variables during episodes of very high uncertainty. First, we identify episodes of very high uncertainty using a regime-switching model. Second, we assess the behaviour of macroeconomic and...

The sovereign debt crisis in the euro area has increased the interest in early warning indicators, with the aim to indicate the build?up of fiscal stress early on and to facilitate crisis prevention by a timely counteraction of fiscal and macroeconomic policies. This paper presents possible...

This paper explores how changes in macroeconomic uncertainty have affected the decision to participate in the European Central Bank’s Survey of Professional Forecasters. Two different approaches are employed in order to address this question. First, a time-series analysis explores if changes...

The Great Recession and the subsequent European crisis may have long-lasting effects on aggregate demand, aggregate supply, and, hence, on macroeconomic performance over the medium and long-run. Besides the fact that financial crisis last longer and are succeeded by slower recoveries, and apart...

A significant rise in Germany's construction volume is expected for this year and the next, even if the growth is not as pronounced as it was in 2016. According to DIW Berlin's latest construction volume calculations, the sum of all new construction and building refurbishments will increase in...

Die aktuelle Lage der russischen Wirtschaft ist dramatisch. Um 3,7 Prozent ist die gesamtwirtschaftliche Leistung im Jahr 2015 eingebrochen. Eine Reihe von Faktoren haben zu der Abwärtsspirale beigetragen: darunter die Unsicherheit in Bezug auf die geopolitische Lage, die verhängten...

Der deutsche Konjunkturmotor ist weiter auf Touren: Die Wirtschaftsleistung dürfte in diesem Jahr bei leicht überausgelasteten Kapazitäten um 1,4 Prozent wachsen. Ins Gewicht fällt der anhaltend kräftige Beschäftigungsaufbau: Die Zahl der Arbeitsplätze steigt um 600 000. Das treibt den...