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IW-Trends No. 2 15. July 2026 Jan Büchel / Jan Felix Engler / Nicolai Krüger*

AI Specialists in Public Administration – Needs and Options for Action

The use of AI in Germany’s public sector not only offers potential for efficiency gains but, in view of the sector’s shortage of skilled staff, is also urgently needed.

IW-Policy Paper No. 7 13. July 2026 Jürgen Matthes

Free and Fair Trade Club to build Middle Power Weight

This paper proposes that the EU should build a cooperation platform together with the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership).

External Publication 13. July 2026 Jürgen Matthes in Intereconomics

Free and Fair Trade Club – Deeper Cooperation Between the EU and the CPTPP

The European Union and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership should build a lasting cooperation platform, which could be named the Free and Fair Trade Club, in order to achieve various geostrategic aims.

IW-Trends No. 2 11. July 2026 Hubertus Bardt et al.

Why Do Companies Invest in Germany?

The growth of Germany’s capital stock is slowing, as current investment increasingly fails to keep pacewith steadily rising disposals. In particular, private investment – which accounts for well over fourfifths of total gross fixed capital formation – has been alarmingly low in recent years.

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IW-Policy Paper No. 6 10. July 2026 Michael Voigtländer / Philipp Deschermeier

How Berlin’s “Socialization” Policy Is Harming Germany as a Business Hub

Berlin's plans to socialise private housing companies under Article 15 of the Basic Law are far more than a local political experiment.

IW-Report No. 32 3. July 2026 Galina Kolev-Schaefer / Samina Sultan

Transatlantic trade at a crossroads

As the US celebrates a quarter of a millennium of independence, transatlantic trade relations stand at a crossroads. The year 2025 was marked by the introduction of unprecedented tariffs by the US administration.

IW-Report No. 31 1. July 2026 Wido Geis-Thöne

Use of Parental Leave by Mothers and Fathers

Whilst there has been much discussion about parental allowance (Elterngeld) in recent years, parental leave (Elternzeit) has been largely overlooked in the public eye. This is partly because very little is known about how it is taken up.

IW-Policy Paper No. 5 30. June 2026 Martin Beznoska / Tobias Hentze

Reform of Personal Income Tax

Reforming personal income tax has been on the political agenda for years. Although bracket creep has largely been offset over the past ten years, the income tax schedule itself has not been structurally reformed.

IW-Report No. 29 19. June 2026 Ruth Maria Schüler / Stefanie Seele

Abolition of the Additional Earnings Limit

The ageing population in Germany is increasing pressure on the social insurance systems and will (in the future) exacerbate the shortage of skilled labour.

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