Germany's Economic Research Articles

Competitiveness of Germany's Economic and Political Space

Germany's economic Standort, as a crucial component of the European Union's broader economic and political space, largely shapes its competitiveness. In his September 2024 report on this topic, Mario Draghi gave special, though understandibly insufficient, attention to Germany's role. This article aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the competitive strengths and weaknesses of Germany's economy. The author employs a spatial approach, viewing the German economy as a Standort product, intentionally shaped by the executive and legislative authorities at all levels, in collaboration with key stakeholders from business, academia, education, and active segments of civil society. The author concludes that inefficiencies in the federal government's economic and political activities, including inadequate dialogue with stakeholders, along with structural problems accumulated over recent decades in the national economy, have been major contributors to the decline in Germany's competitiveness. Prospects for reversing this negative trend remain uncertain. Without stronger leadership in Berlin and more effective Standort collaboration, there is a risk that Germany in the medium term.may continue to be the «sick man of Europe».

Germany's Economic Integration: Automotive Industry and FDI Analysis

In this paper, Germany's significant role was explored in regional integration and its competitive edge in the automotive manufacturing industry, underlining the country's strategic involvement in the European Union and World Trade Organisation. Germany’s participation in the EU has been instrumental in promoting economic integration across Europe, benefiting from free trade agreements and contributing to the EU’s status as a major trade bloc. The paper also delves into the reasons behind Germany's prowess in the automotive sector, using Porter's Diamond Model to analyze factors like advanced technology, skilled workforce, strict consumer standards, and supportive industries, all contributing to the country's global competitiveness in this domain. Furthermore, the study investigates the dynamics of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Germany, identifying key attractions for foreign investors such as technological leadership, a robust market, efficient infrastructure, and favorable investment policies. However, challenges like rigorous government regulations on FDI and cultural differences pose potential hurdles for foreign investors. The conclusion emphasizes that while Germany offers substantial opportunities due to its economic strength and market potential, foreign entities must carefully navigate these challenges to successfully invest and operate in the German market.

Reasons for Germany's Economic Success in Recent Years

In this paper, I mainly talk about the changes of the German economy in recent years, and I will write about the changes of the German economy from four different perspectives, I think these four aspects will have a greater impact on the German economy. The first is the German manufacturing industry, we all know that the German manufacturing industry is a major source of the German economy, but due to some changes in recent years, will it have an impact on the German manufacturing industry? The next question is whether inflation in Germany will have a small impact on the national economy. In addition, I want to talk about the employment problem of Germany. As a developed country, will the epidemic, war and other factors affect the employment rate of Germany? Finally, I will talk about Germany's fiscal policy, and I will describe some of the policy improvements and changes made by the German government.

Economics in Germany: About the Unequal Distribution of Power

This article analyzes the power relations in the field of German economics. By incorporating the capital and field theory of Pierre Bourdieu, the study investigates the distribution of economic, social, and symbolic capital on economists in Germany. In a first step, the three forms of capital have been defined and operationalized on publicly available information. This leads to eight main samples of economists. In a second step, information on these economists have been collected to derive indicators regarding their paradigmatic stance and institutional background. The findings indicate a monopolization of mainstream economics and concentration of resources on the large economic departments. Furthermore, these characteristics relate to an increased importance of Colander’s Edge, an almost complete marginalization of heterodox economics and a significant center-periphery disparity. Thus, in the field of economics in Germany, a social structural verticalization and elitism of universities as well as a paradigm monism can be observed.

Power structures in economics and society: Some remarks on the future of non-mainstream economics

Economic approaches that emphasize power dynamics in the political economy or rely on a non-mathematical, non-positivistic, pluralistic methodology are either almost marginalized in (heterodoxy) or excluded from (transdisciplinary non-mainstream) the field of economics. Relying on a combination of the Discursive Political Economy of Economics and a critical sociology of economic knowledge, this article gives a sociological explanation of these paradigmatic conditions and the related future prospects of non-mainstream research within economics in Germany, by incorporating social theory, discourse, and power analysis, and philosophy of science. In doing so, the article argues for a special role of economics in the political economy, which is associated with a legitimatizing and economic-knowledgeproducing function for non-epistemic issues. In a dialectic understanding of society and science, the implementation of classification rankings such as rankings and of a pyramidal hierarchy of publications is viewed as the disciplinary response to its social role. This results in an unequal distribution of power in the field of economics in Germany. The article concludes that a pluralistic change in modern economics cannot be expected, as long there is no social change in terms of the interconnection between the two demands for academic reputation and economic knowledge.

Germany's Economic Miracle: the Dominance of Ordoliberalism and its End (1948-1966)

Germany's economic miracle had a theoretical basis with the ordoliberal view of the so-called ‘Freiburg School’, which was definitely not simple and rectilinear. Oiken's conceptions of economic development were in clear contradiction with Müller-Armakis approaches, which were characterized by the opposition between free market relations and state interventions and which ultimately led to the end of the ordoliberal course. Keywords: Economic Miracle, Germany's Economic Miracle

Women Economists and the Changes in the Discipline of Economics in Germany (1895-1961)

In Germany, women could attend universities as regular students only in the twentieth century. However, in the 1890s the female pioneers of economics and the social sciences attended seminars as guests. Their research was published in the journals of their supervisors. The changes in the (higher) education system and the discipline of economics are the background to the presentation of four generations of female economists in this paper. Selected biographies and the research of the respective economists are analyzed and the developments of the broader context reflected on this background. The selected works span the time period between 1895 and 1961. Starting with the historical-ethical school the analysis also sheds light on the evolution of the discipline of economics in Germany and the approach towards the Anglo-American mainstream beginning after World War I.

Lefteris Tsoulfidis and Persefoni Tsaliki, Classical Political Economics and Modern Capitalism. Theories of Value, Competition, Trade and Long Cycles

The revival of Classical Political Economy (CPE) has multiple origins in the history of economic thought since the 19th century. It originated in discussions about Marxian economics in Germany, France, England, Russia, the United States and elsewhere since the Communist Manifesto, in Keynesian and Postkeynesian economics, especially in Cambridge since the 1930s and, probably most important for the academic recognition of this subject, in Sraffa’s publication of Ricardo’s works and his own boo...

1933: Germany's Economic Crises (A)

In January 1933, German president Paul von Hindenburg confronted the dilemma of whom to appoint as chancellor in the midst of the Great Depression, polarization of voters, civil unrest, rumors of a pending revolution or coup d'etat, and public distrust of the liberal democratic regime that arose out of the government collapse after World War I. His choice would determine the survival or demise of democracy in Germany. This case set explores why an economic crisis might prompt abandonment of a constitutional democracy, as well as how authoritarian behavior by participants in a democratic government can destabilize democracy. The main task for the students is to recommend a course of action for Hindenburg that might preserve the democratic republic. This requires an appreciation of the reasons for the fragility of the German government, including the economic crisis that it faced. Excerpt UVA-F-1966 Nov. 13, 2020 1933: Germany's Economic Crises (A) In January 1933, German president Paul von Hindenburg faced the most important decision of his career: whom to appoint as chancellor in the midst of a worsening economic crisis. The German Constitution of 1919 had established a parliamentary government. The head of state was the president, who retained broad powers to appoint a chancellor, who would oversee the formulation and implementation of government policies. However, the chancellor's power to rule depended on commanding a majority in parliament, called the Reichstag. Typically, the appointment decision was straightforward: whoever commanded a working majority in the Reichstag would become the chancellor. When no single party commanded a majority, the president had the power to appoint a chancellor even without a voting majority. Such was the situation that Hindenburg faced. Hindenburg's decision was complicated by the crushing Depression, deepening polarization of voters, the rise of radical parties, civil unrest prompted by political street gangs, jockeying among rival candidates, political instability resulting from the brief tenures of recent chancellors, and Hindenburg's own preferences. Overshadowing the crisis was growing distrust of liberal democracy that had sprung from Germany's defeat in World War I, the revolution of 1918 that ended Germany's monarchy, and the episode of hyperinflation 10 years before. Rumors circulated about civil war or coups d'etat from the radical Left or Right. The fate of democracy seemed to hang in the balance. Whom should Hindenburg appoint as chancellor? He had four alternatives: 1. Do nothing: retain the current chancellor, Kurt von Schleicher. The Catholic Center Party (hereafter, Center Party) had recently stormed out of Schleicher's coalition, eroding his support in the Reichstag to a minority. This would require dissolving parliament and calling for a new election. Schleicher privately proposed to Hindenburg that the president should indeed dissolve the Reichstag and then delay calling a new election, during which time the president and chancellor could rule by decree. This was plainly anti-democratic but would give Schleicher's government time to deal with the crisis. Schleicher had been in power for less than two months and had failed to win popular support. A conservative, he had in recent weeks sought unsuccessfully the support of the military, industrialists, and even social democrats and workers. . . .

The relationship among gender, interest in economic topics, media use, and the economic knowledge of students at vocational schools

The results of numerous studies indicate that male students achieve better results on economic knowledge tests than their female classmates. Although this phenomenon has been known for a long time, the gender-specific mechanisms of this gap have not been explored in depth. According to social and educational scientific theories and the current state of research, interest and media use could be related to gender. In this study, we administered a German adaption of the internationally accepted Test of Economic Literacy to explore the gender gap in the economic knowledge of 983 students from 62 classes at 7 vocational secondary schools and commercial vocational schools specializing in business and economics in Germany to determine whether it is significantly influenced by interest and media use. The results indicate that a considerable part of the gender gap can be clarified by effects of interest in economic topics and the use of media to research them. Implications for social and economic education are discussed.

Elements of economic culture as informal institutions in the economic development of Germany

Motivation: The author is interested in the problem of the economic development of a state wherein economic capital is described as a set of elements creating economic culture and informal institutions. Aim: Identification of the operational conditions and manifestations of institutional economics in Germany may obtain an accurate picture and understanding of the functioning their counterparts in Poland. Article is also a proposal for the development of research in the field of institutional economics and economic culture. Results: Putting the thesis that the German economy belongs to the group of the strongest in the world, the study revealed a pattern of results where the institutions were proposed as part of institutional economics, which determine economic development.

The Freiburg "Bonhoeffer Circle" (1943) on Theology and Germany's Economic Order

When Dietrich Bonhoeffer arrived in the Southern German city of Freiburg on October 9, 1942, he came to relay a most treasonous request. The Nazi regime, arguably at the zenith of its power, had attacked Stalingrad that summer and it would be months of bitter fighting before the pivotal defeat of the German troops in January 1943. Admitting the possibility that Nazi Germany could lose the entire war, let alone planning for the post-war period, was treasonous to the utmost degree; Adolf Hitler and Herman Göring had recently decreed the death penalty for any post-war preparations. Bonhoeffer, at the behest of the Provisional Administration of the Bekennende Kirche (Confessing Church), had travelled to Freiburg to ask a group of local academics connected to the Confessing Church to draw up a blue print for a post-war societal order in Germany. The idea was to "if possible, cover all the principal branches of public life from the viewpoints of Christian social ethics," as recorded in the standard source, A Political Order of Communal Life: Attempting a Self-reflection of the Christian Conscience Facing the Political Calamities of our Times, or, after its German short-title, Denkschrift or memorandum, edited by Helmut Thielicke.

Economic assessment of Ostertagia ostertagi and Fasciola hepatica infections in dairy cattle herds in Germany using Paracalc®

The aim of the current study was to estimate economic costs of Ostertagia ostertagi and Fasciola hepatica infections in dairy cattle herds in Germany using the online calculation programme Paracalc®. Following a questionnaire, survey data were available from 464 farms in 14 federal states. On those farms bulk tank milk (BTM) samples and additionally up to six serum samples collected from first season grazing calves were analysed, using a commercially available ELISA (Boehringer Ingelheim SVANOVA Biotech AB, Uppsala, Sweden), an in-house ELISA (F. hepatica) and an in-house serum pepsinogen test. In total, samples obtained from 344 farms were included in the analysis since those were the only farms with complete questionnaires. Median costs per farm and year were estimated for gastrointestinal (GI) nematode infections (€721.38) and F. hepatica infection (€565.61). Decreases in milk yield in multiparous cows were the major reason for annual production losses due to GI nematodes (€13.33 per cow) and F. hepatica infections (€7.95 per cow), which was followed by annual costs for anthelmintic treatment against GI nematode infections in adult cows (€10.00 per cow) and F. hepatica infection associated annual costs due to repeated artificial insemination (€10.13 per cow) and prolonged calving intervals (€9.40 per cow). The study demonstrated that if all required information is provided, the Paracalc® tool can assist to identify productions losses in dairy cattle herds due to helminth infections and to optimise farm economics in Germany.

The Short Rise and Long Fall of Heterodox Economics in Germany After the 1970s: Explorations in a Scientific Field of Power and Struggle

:In the context of ongoing criticisms of the lack of pluralism in economics, we discuss the development of “heterodox” economics since the 1970s in Germany. Following Imre Lakatos’s concept of scientific research programs (SRP), we examine some classifications of economics, specifying the understanding of diversity in light of the “axiomatic variations” of mainstream economics. This forms the basis for our subsequent description of the development of heterodoxy in Germany, with special reference to the founding of new universities and the reform movements in the 1970s. We show that the heterodox scene flourished in this period, but that this pluralization remained fragmented and short-lived, so that by the 1980s heterodoxy was on its way to becoming marginalized again. The history of heterodoxy in Germany thus presents itself as an unequal “battle of the paradigms,” and can only be told as a story of failure.

Health economics modern aspects in Germany

In this article, I researched contemporary experience and aspects of health economics in Germany. Considered the history of the formation of social policy in Germany and partly outlined the issues of health economics. Graphically depicted the system of public health and health economics institute. I recommended that further studies are needed to explore and implement German Practice in Ukraine and other European countries

Time to Go? (Inter)National Mobility and Appointment Success of Young Academics

We analyze whether and how young researchers’ (inter)national mobility affects their later appointment success. We use data on 330 researchers from business and economics in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking part of Switzerland and measure appointment success by (a) the time it takes a young researcher to get tenure and by (b) whether the researcher succeeded in getting tenure at a highly ranked institution. We find that international mobility is positively related to the likelihood of getting tenure at a highly ranked institution whereas pre-tenure national mobility is negatively related to both measures of appointment success. The latter effect stems from the period when post-doctoral pre-tenure national mobility was uncommon and created a negative stigma – an effect that vanishes after the introduction of Juniorprofessorships.

Impact of gender and professional education on attitudes towards financial incentives for organ donation: results of a survey among 755 students of medicine and economics in Germany.

BackgroundThere is an ongoing expert debate with regard to financial incentives in order to increase organ supply. However, there is a lacuna of empirical studies on whether citizens would actually support financial incentives for organ donation.MethodsBetween October 2008 and February 2009 a quantitative survey was conducted among German students of medicine and economics to gain insights into their point of view regarding living and deceased organ donation and different forms of commercialization (n = 755).ResultsThe average (passive) willingness to donate is 63.5% among medical students and 50.0% among students of economics (p = 0.001), while only 24.1% of the respondents were actually holding an organ donor card. 11.3% of students of economics had signed a donor card, however, the number is significantly higher among students of medicine (31.9%, p < 0.001). Women held donor cards significantly more often (28.6%) than men (19.4%, p = 0.004). The majority of students were against direct payments as incentives for deceased and living donations. Nevertheless, 37.5% of the respondents support the idea that the funeral expenses of deceased organ donors should be covered. Women voted significantly less often for the coverage of expenses than men (women 31.6%, men 44.0%, p = 0.003). The number of those in favor of allowing to sell one’s organs for money (living organ donation) was highest among students of economics (p = 0.034).ConclusionDespite a generally positive view on organ donation the respondents refuse to consent to commercialization, but are in favor of removing disincentives or are in favor of indirect models of reward.

The interaction of publications and appointments: new evidence on academic economists in Germany

Using a new panel data set comprising publication and appointment data for 889 German academic economists over a quarter of a century, we confirm the familiar hypothesis that publications are important for professorial appointments, but find only a small negative effect of appointments on subsequent research productivity, in particular if one controls for the presence of top researchers (‘stars’). Surprisingly, the research output of stars drops significantly more than the average in the aftermath of an appointment. We also provide some evidence of the effects of the fundamental reform of economics in Germany and of affirmative action procedures.

Germany after World War II: Ordoliberalism, the Social Market Economy and Keynesianism

The post-1945 development of economics in Germany is characterized by important similarities as well as by some considerable differences compared to other European countries. The strong growth of international trade was accompanied by an increasing internationalization of economics that was simultaneously for a greater part a process of Americanization. The historically unmatched growth from 1950 to the early 1970s was associated by the growth of economics as an academic discipline and an increasing economization of public life. German economics also ran through the rise and fall of Keynesianism as well as a switch to monetarist ideas and supply-side policies in the mid- 1970s after the first oil price shock. On the other hand, some special factors exist which distinguish the German case from the development of economics elsewhere.The paper illustrates the relationship between the political and the economic sphere in Germany after WWII

Fostering of health economics in Germany

Health economics is now well established in Germany with the aim to apply economic tools to answer problems in health and health care. After a short review of the international development of health economics and the development in Germany in particular, the article looks at selected recent topics of health economic analysis in Germany (economic evaluation, industrial economics, health and education).