German Government Research Articles

Is your surname remunerative? Surname favorability and CEO compensation

We find that CEOs with more favorable surnames receive significantly higher compensation. The estimated effect of surname favorability is unique and incremental to the documented effects of various firm, board, and CEO characteristics. CEOs with French or German surnames receive significantly lower compensation after the French and German governments' opposition to the Iraq war. Surname favorability is not associated with corporate investments, disclosure policies, or firm performances. The results are more pronounced for professional (i.e., non-founder) or short-tenured CEOs and for firms with lower institutional ownership. Surname favorability reduces the likelihood of forced CEO turnover following poor stock performance but is not associated with a CEO's self-serving behaviors. Our results suggest that the effect of surname favorability is attributable to inefficient contracting by the board of directors. Our findings have implications for corporate stakeholders who have committed to the efficient contracting of CEO compensations.

Examining the impact of Russia-Ukraine conflict and China support on the supply chain of German family-owned SMEs in 2022

ABSTRACT The geopolitical situation created by Russia and China over Ukraine has made it difficult for businesses in Germany, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises, to manage their logistics and supply chain processes effectively. The objective of this paper was to examine the impact of the geopolitical situation on the supply chain of German family-owned SMEs in 2022, focusing on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and China. The researchers used a quantitative research study that sampled 50 participants drawn from four family-owned SMEs in Germany. Questionnaires were used to collect data from the participants. The path analysis results reveal a significant relationship between price changes and Germany's family-owned SMEs’ supply chain processes (b = 0.716, t = 15.469, t < 0.05). The positive sign indicates that an increase in the independent variable results in an increase in the dependent variable. The positive sign indicates that an increase in organizational characteristics increases attitude towards green practices. The study concludes that supply inflation, price cost, and supply cost fundamentally affect the supply chain processes of Germany-owned SMEs. The German government and other stakeholders in the SME sectors should develop policies that aim to provide financial and regulatory assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany through public-private partnerships.

Frames and sentiments of the Twitter communication by German Chancellor Scholz during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Abstract In a complex information environment, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine presents a major challenge to the communication of political leaders throughout the world. The objective of this article is to analyse the frames and sentiments used by German chancellor Olaf Scholz, employing a novel data set of his Twitter communication (N = 612) during the Russian invasion of Ukraine between 24 February 2022 and 24 February 2023. A combination of computational text analysis approaches with natural language processing (NLP) techniques was used, including the Valence Aware Dictionary and the sentiment Reasoner (VADER) model for sentiment analysis and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) for topic modelling. This research investigates the prevalent frames and emotions in the chancellor’s communication, providing valuable insights into the German government’s stance and strategic communication during this critical geopolitical event. The results of the study revealed that the chancellor used the frames ‘effects of the Ukraine invasion’, ‘climate &amp; environment’, ‘solidarity’ and ‘Russian aggression’ and communicated with positive sentiments. By examining the chancellor’s Twitter communication, this study contributes to the understanding of political communication in the digital era, particularly in the context of international crises, and offers implications for policymakers, scholars and the broader public.

In Government and Scientists We Trust

Abstract The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led the German government to introduce containment measures to suppress transmission. This article tests if compliance with those measures was influenced by trust in the governing, health, and scientific institutions that were managing the crisis. The research draws on a survey collected amid the early days of the pandemic. Principal components analysis uncover three trust dimensions: trust in scientific, political, and regional institutions. Multivariate generalized linear models then find that individuals trusting of scientific and political institutions were more likely to reduce social contacts, avoid crowded places, and maintain social distance. These effects endure net of political partisanship and exposure to social media. By demonstrating that trust influenced compliance, I reframe a public health emergency as one set within a relationship between citizens and the state and advocate for policy learning structures in which the role of trust is more meaningfully incorporated.

Факторы «напряженности» в англо-германских дипломатических отношениях в период 1904–1911 гг.

The content of the article analyzes the state of diplomatic relations between Great Britain and Germany in the period between 1904–1911. Special emphasis is placed on the designated period in order to identify and de-scribe the factors that caused the growth of political and economic contradictions. In this context, the buildup of Germany’s naval potential and its orientation towards strengthening its position in the traditional colonial sys-tem, considering the arms race between the two countries that began in the light of the events that took place, is considered in detail. Based on the analysis of the actions taken by the representatives of the British and Ger-man governments during the period in question, prepared on the basis of the study of research works and rele-vant sources, the author reveals the nature of the diplomatic aggravation and concludes on its role in the forth-coming military conflict.

Evaluating the role of the share and intensity of renewable energy for sustainable development in Germany

With its strong ties to the European Union, Germany is well-positioned to assist many countries achieve sustainability goals. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to examine how renewable energy intensity and renewable energy share improve environmental sustainability, the load capacity factor (LCF) in Germany from 1970 to 2018. To this end, the study uses the autoregressive distributed lag model, with the effects of the Kyoto Protocol included as a dummy variable. The study contributes to the literature by considering and testing for the first time the impact of renewables on the LCF in terms of intensity and share for Germany. The empirical results show that (i) economic growth lowers the LCF faster in the early stages of economic development than in later periods; therefore, the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis is valid in Germany. (ii) A 1% upsurge in renewable energy intensity has no statistically significant effect on the LCF, while a 1% rise in the share of renewables in the total energy mix increases LCF by 0.48%. (iii) A 1% rise in urbanization reduces the LCF by 6.52%. (iv) A 1% augment in human capital enhances the LCF by 3.49%. These outcomes suggest that the German government should use human capital development and increasing the share of renewable energy as policy instruments to achieve the sustainable development goals.

Peat Substitution in Horticulture: Interviews with German Growing Media Producers on the Transformation of the Resource Base

Peat is the major constituent of horticultural growing media. Due to its high climate footprint, its extraction and use are controversial and the need to limit its use is widely recognised. The Peat Use Reduction Strategy of the German government aims to phase out its use and replace it with renewable materials. Despite large potential, stakeholders consider the availability of peat substitutes in sufficient quantity and quality as a critical issue. The goal of this research is to systematically investigate the challenges and opportunities for substituting peat in the resource base of the growing media industry. Based on deep-dive interviews with German growing media producers, the factors determining the supply and use of the main growing media constituents—peat, green compost, wood fibres, composted bark and coir products—were analysed. The results show the critical role of the processing infrastructure on transportation distances and the quality and quantity of the market supply. Additionally, competition with other sectors affects the availability of materials for the growing media industry. Moreover, peat is still economically advantageous compared with its substitutes. Even if this advantage declines due to consumer awareness and the end of domestic extraction, the end of peat use would probably imply new policy measures.

Eligibility for the Funding and Development from the German Federal Organizations in the Energy and Environmental Sector

The German government has set targets to increase renewable energy usage and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. They aim to raise the proportion of renewable energy in total energy consumption from 10.6% in 2010 to 17.1% by 2020. In 2022, the industrial sector accounted for over 44% of renewable energy usage, with a cost of around 17 billion euros. By 2030, the government expects renewable sources to contribute at least 65% of the national energy consumption. To encourage the growth of renewable energy, the government provides subsidies and grants through programs like KfW and the Federal Ministry BAFA. This thesis focuses on four research questions: the effectiveness of subsidies, optimizing technology support benefits, challenges faced by renewable energy businesses in accessing government support, and evaluating the impact of grant funding on the development of energy-efficient technology. Considering the specific needs of each company is crucial for making accurate investments.

Analisis Isu Islamophobia Di Jerman: Studi Kasus Muhammadiyah Sebagai Organisasi Gerakan Islam Modernis Indonesia

The case of Islamophobia is one of the cases that is often reported in the German media, which is closely related to the failure of multiculturalism politics which has an impact on the emergence of a negative stigma against Islam. Being a Western country with the largest Muslim population in Europe with a total of approximately 5.3 to 5.6 million people, based on data from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) in 2021, the German government's policy towards Muslim immigrants is very exclusive and limited. Despite the many negative stigmas, Islam has been transformed into one of the major entities whose existence is considered. Muhammadiyah is one of the Islamic organizations in Indonesia that has diasporaized the "Modernist Islam" missionary movement in Germany. Through the modernist Islamic diaspora, Muhammadiyah seeks to explore the issue of Islamophobia by developing a da'wah movement through real programs to raise the positive image of Islam in German society. The method used in this research is a descriptive qualitative approach, which involves conducting a literature review, where all the data used in this study uses secondary data, which includes books, theses, theses, articles, journals, and various news related to this research. The results of this study illustrate that the modernist Muhammadiyah Islamic diaspora in Germany has had quite a positive impact in efforts to minimize the negative stigma of Islamophobia in Germany.

Chancen und Risiken von Künstlicher Intelligenz für die deutsche Wirtschaft

Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) represents one of the most important digital topics of the future and is attracting ever greater interest in science, business and society. The developments are progressing rapidly. AI is associated with great potential for the future, but also with dangers. The German government has already launched an AI strategy in 2018. The aim is to strengthen Germany’s international competitive position in the research, development and application of AI. Where does Germany stand in the application and development of AI? Are the measures taken sufficient? In which areas is there still a need for action?

Legal aspects of driving and cardiovascular diseases : Guidelines of German Cardiac Society and the German government in comparison

The general regulations for an active participation in the road traffic in the Federal Republic of Germany are laid down in the Driving License Ordinance ("Fahrerlaubnisverordnung" ) (including appendices). Cardiovascular diseases with aneed for precautionary measures and the circumstances according to which the driving fitness is to be determined are reviewed in appendix4 of the ordinance. The guidelines of the Federal Highway Research Institute ("Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen") must also be considered when assessing the fitness to drive. Presentation of the current legal recommendations in the assessment of the driving fitness in the respect to cardiovascular diseases. The current official regulations and the recommendations on the fitness to drive in the case of cardiovascular diseases were assessed. In addition, the pocket guidelines of the German Society for Cardiology (DGK) on the subject were reviewed. As the type of vehicle and time at the wheel influence the probability and the extent of damage in the case of atraffic accident, the official requirements for driving aptitude distinguish between private (group1) and professional drivers (group2). The official recommendations for assessing fitness to drive in the case of cardiac arrhythmias, device therapy, coronary heart disease, cardiac insufficiency, valve diseases and syncope are presented. Driving fitness plays an important role in the cardiological patient collective and should be determined in accordance with the official recommendations. For everyday clinical practice, the DGK recommendations for fitness to drive are presented in aclearer and more practice-relevant manner.

On German National Image Self-Shaping from the Perspective of Multimodal Discourse Analysis—A Case Study of German Chancellor Scholz's Tweets

Multimodality is a major trend in the current discourse world. Multimodal discourse analysis focuses on the co-construction of different symbolic resources and the internal rules of each mode, which enriches the perspective of traditional discourse research. On the international political stage, national propaganda windows also actively use multimodal means to shape their ideologies and national images. This thesis, based on the three metafunctions of language and visual grammar theory, makes a multimodal analysis of German Chancellor Scholz's tweets posted in the second half of 2022, to explore Germany's process of shaping its national image on social media platforms. The German government uses a rich symbolic system to design discursive expressions, establishing a national image to the world that proactively assumes the responsibility of global governance, wholeheartedly defends the core interests of the people, and strictly defends the traditional value order.

MOBILIZING THE MUSLIMS: OTTOMAN-GERMAN PROPAGANDA IN WORLD WAR I

On 2 August 1914, the Ottoman Empire and the German Empire agreed on an alliance, and the Ottoman Empire officially entered into World War I on 29 October 1914 as one of the Central Powers. In November, jihad was proclaimed by the Ottoman Sultan. The Ottoman and German governments published pamphlets, leaflets, and newspapers to mobilize Muslims in India, Egypt, and other dependencies of the Allies. They aimed to incite mutiny among native populations in their armies, foster Pan-Islamism, or create pro- German sentiments. While some of the propaganda materials invited Muslims to holy war, others used the Caliphate and the Ottoman Empire as a bridge to reach the Muslims. This article examines German and Ottoman propaganda to mobilize Muslims against the Allies.

The Berlin puzzle: Why European solidarity prevailed in the adoption of the Corona recovery fund

AbstractIn light of the German government's long‐held preference against EU‐wide fiscal burden‐sharing, a hallmark of the Euro crisis, its support for an EU‐wide debt‐instrument during the COVID‐19 pandemic constitutes a dramatic policy U‐turn. To make sense of the ‘Berlin puzzle’, we develop a theoretical mechanism that explores why an initially reluctant German government heeded to the call for transnational fiscal solidarity: First, to avoid a ‘common bad’ of a large‐scale economic contraction, proposals for an EU‐wide fiscal response became a political imperative. Second, the successful framing of the crisis as ‘nobody's fault’ rendered the call for European solidarity as the dominant standard of legitimacy to which all governments subscribed. Third, governments whose preferences were not aligned with this standard faced mounting normative pressure and isolation. As a result, governments changed their positions, but not their preferences. We probe this mechanism by carrying out a process‐tracing analysis of the German government's fiscal policy U‐turn in the crucial months preceding the adoption of the Next Generation EU (NGEU) recovery plan in July 2020. The paper contributes to the growing literature on fiscal burden‐sharing in the EU by demonstrating when and how member states can change their stance on transnational fiscal burden‐sharing.

Osoblyvosti mihratsiinoi polityky Nimechchyny v period druhoi polovyny XX st. — pochatku XXI st.

The migration policy of European countries, built on the interaction of two principles of social development — the principle of humanism and pragmatism — is tested for strength in modern conditions, which forces it to adapt and change. Taking into account the future that awaits Ukraine, the need to build a migration policy aimed, among other things, at the return of its population after the end of hostilities, the analysis of foreign experience in building a national migration policy seems relevant and timely. The article examines the main aspects of Germany’s migration policy from the end of World War II to the present. The processes that took place during the analysed time period allow us to draw a conclusion about a radical change in the migration paradigm of Germany as one of the most successful states of the European Union and as a state endowed with the largest migration load. The main qualitative and quantitative characteristics of Germany’s migration policy have been studied. Special attention is paid to the study of migration legislation. It was concluded that, having made a number of mistakes and miscalculations in the migration policy, the German government was able to take into account the accumulated historical experience, adapting it to modern realities. In order to prevent mistakes that were made in the past regarding migration policy, and to mitigate the existing negativity in society, the Federal Republic of Germany has developed a toolkit aimed, at a minimum, at mitigating the presence of migrants in society, their social adaptation, and at most — at full their integration. Maintaining a balance between the interests of migrants, the interests of the public and the state has been chosen as the most important state task. Special emphasis is placed on integration courses, which include language and familiarization courses for migrants to acquire knowledge of the German language, social and cultural characteristics of the native population of Germany.

Opportunities for the German gas grid by using synthetic fuels from an energy system perspective

The German government’s goals of climate neutrality by 2045 are exerting high pressure on the gas grids, as natural gas consumption has to cease. However, gas grids could be operated further by using synthetic energy carriers. As this heavily affects grid maintenance and future investment decisions, it is essential that operators gain clarity about the future of their assets. This paper applies the TIMES PanEU energy system model to examine opportunities for the gas grid arising from synthetic fuels from a system perspective. Therefore, the model is methodically enhanced by depicting infrastructures and conducting an integrative analysis of the gas grid. Up to 50% of the grids can be operated economically in case low-cost synthetic methane is available, low-cost hydrogen can allow around 2/3 of the gas transmission grids to be operated. However, since the building sector uses about 2/3 less gaseous fuels even in optimistic scenarios, the distribution grids are strongly deconstructed in all scenarios. From a system perspective, investments in the expansion of the gas grids therefore seem to be rather sunk costs in the long term, since a more or less strong dismantling appears to be inevitable, with permanently high fossil gas prices even accelerating this trend.

Primary market demand for German government bonds

This paper provides evidence on the drivers of demand at government bond auctions using data on more than 600 German federal government bond auctions between 2005 and 2022. Applying the model averaging technique Weighted Average Least Squares robust determinants are identified from a large set of regressors representing auction-specific, institutional, regulatory and financial market conditions. To cover different characteristics of the empirical demand curves new measures of auction demand are introduced which i.a. reflect bidders’ estimated real-time allotment expectations. The main results can be summarised as follows: Demand is positively affected by the secondary market yield of the respective security, the announcement of upcoming syndications by the issuer, the volume offered, and underpricing at previous auctions. Furthermore, central bank net purchases in the secondary market have a robustly positive effect on demand at least for short-term bonds. Robustly negative effects are found for market volatility and the regulatory introduction of the leverage ratio for banks. The most noticeable null result is that I do not find robust evidence for crowding-out-like effects where the issuance activity of comparable issuers would dampen auction demand.

When identity meets strategy: The development of British and German anti-torture policies since 9/11

Since 9/11, considerable research has been done on US interrogation and detention operations, but comparatively little is known about the involvement of other traditionally liberal states’ intelligence agencies and their evolving perspectives on torture-related policies for foreigners abroad. Particularly, the United Kingdom and Germany provide interesting cases; despite similar levels of public and political pressure regarding their indirect involvement in Central Intelligence Agency’s operations, the two states took different strategic decisions in 2010 on whether to implement new extraterritorial human rights safeguards. While the United Kingdom introduced a new intelligence guidance for interrogations overseas, the German government opted for policy-continuance, which raises the question why the two states embarked on different policy trajectories, even if they found themselves in contextually similar situations and were subjected to the comparable accountability measures. By bridging insights from Rationalist and normative literature, the article addresses this conundrum by clearly outlining the states’ differing strategic preferences, and by dissecting the multi-layered composition of these interests. As a result, the article delineates how strategic constraints pertaining to the states’ national, international, or political elite level affect decision-makers’ policy responses.

Hydrogen governance in Germany: a challenge for federal coordination

ABSTRACT With the National Hydrogen Strategy, the German government defined an initial framework for the integration of hydrogen into the energy system. At the subnational level, most Länder have also adopted individual hydrogen strategies. This article examines the coherence between the different strategies. We find a fragmentation of the different strategic goals and approaches towards the market ramp-up of hydrogen technologies, which results from a deficient multilateral coordination within the federal system. Hydrogen coordination in Germany is constrained by party-political and territorial conflicts, but also by the interaction between intra- and intergovernmental dynamics. Thus, to prevent fragmentation of complex energy transition issues, such as hydrogen, regular coordination is required at both the intra- and intergovernmental levels. Given the exemplary nature of the German case, this analysis offers insights for the study of similar coordination challenges encountered in various federal and multi-level systems.

Витоки та становлення системи примусової праці у Третьому Райху: на матеріалах Польщі

The purpose of the study is to show the main stages of the formation of the German system of forced labor in the second half of the 19th and the fi rst half of the 20th centuries, which is closely related to the territory of Poland and the Polish population, based on the work of pred- ecessors and the available source base. Th e research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity, and systematicity. Th e scientifi c novelty lies in the fact that, for the fi rst time in Ukrainian historiography, an attempt has been made to trace the stages of transformation of economic relations between neighboring nations from mutually benefi cial to the mass enslave- ment and exploitation of the Polish population by the German regimes. Conclusions. At the end of the XIX – at the beginning of the XX century in Polish-German economic relations, the use of Polish seasonal workers in agriculture was of great importance, which became the basis for the formation of the system of forced labor in Germany. Th e Kaiser’s government was forced to turn to it due to the overexertion of the country’s forces in the fi ght against an enemy whose forces and resources greatly exceeded those of Germany. In the conditions of a protracted bloody war, the practice of forced labor of foreign workers proved to be eff ective, especially in the fi eld of agriculture, and provided an opportunity to control the occupied territories and their population, cementing the cynical idea that forced labor was profi table only under the conditions of its mass and the ap- plication of totalitarian measures during its organization. Kaiser Germany laid the foundation for the system of forced labor of foreign workers and the policy of segregation based on nationality and state affi liation, which later became the foundation of the economy and ideology of the Th ird Reich. During the Second World War, the policy of the German occupiers varied depending on the country or region of enslavement, and it also changed at diff erent stages of the war. On the territory of Poland, the attempt of the Th ird Reich to create loyal authorities with the assistance of the Polish right-wing forces proved unsuccessful due to their small number and disunity. Th e occupiers man- aged to organize the use of Poland’s economy and human resources mainly by relying on national minorities and the experience of the Kaiser’s government, which was improved and supplemented by the idea of racial superiority at the legislative level.