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Expertise 25. August 2026 Hagen Lesch / Lennart Eckle / Sandra Vogel

European Minimum Wage Directive and Strengthening Collective Bargaining Coverage

The EU Minimum Wage Directive recommends that EU Member States achieve a collective bargaining coverage of 80 per cent to ensure adequate minimum wages.

IW-Trends No. 2 6. August 2026 Adriana Neligan et al.

Critical Raw Materials: Corporate Exposure, Supply Risks and Adaptation Strategies

Critical raw materials are vital inputs for key technologies and thus for industrial competitiveness.

IW-Report No. 35 23. July 2026 Christoph Schröder

Collective bargaining coverage and functional income distribution in international comparison

The study examines whether a high level of collective bargaining coverage influences the functional income distribution between companies and employees.

IW-Report No. 21 22. July 2026 Simon Gerards Iglesias / Nicolas Reeves*

Trade and Cooperation Between the EU and the Gulf States

Driven especially by the policies of US President Donald Trump, rising global economic fragmentation and geopolitical disorder have lent renewed strategic importance to the prospective free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

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External Publication 5. August 2026 Andreas Fischer in Intereconomics

Securing Energy Supply While Advancing Climate Goals

Europe faces a dual challenge: eliminating lingering dependencies on energy imports while simultaneously accelerating the transformation towards climate neutrality.

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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