Information about the studies of the institute for the media.
Press Releases
Export performance: Unit labour costs shape international trade
Even Germany, as an export nation, has to compete for shares on its sales markets. The cost for businesses to manufacture goods plays a vital role in this process. An interactive graphic by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW Köln) reveals the following: when unit labour costs increase in comparison to the competition, export performance generally declines.
Christoph Schröder IW
Circular economy: All countries need to recycle more
Recycling, recovering, reusing – the European Commission wants member countries to accumulate less waste, and thus plans to tighten its recycling targets. This move would have repercussions for all member states – including the European champion of recycling, Germany – according to a study carried out by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW Köln). After all, no EU country would meet the proposed target right off.
Adriana Neligan IW
Munich most expensive
For students, in the past five years the cost of accommodation has increased throughout Germany. This is reflected in the new student accommodation price index of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft Köln – IW) and Deutsche Real Estate Funds (DREF) in cooperation with ImmobilienScout24. In Munich, Frankfurt and Hamburg, students pay the most for an apartment – and state-funded student residences are particularly scarce in Frankfurt and Hamburg.
Apartments for students IW
More Harm than Good
The Eurozone inflation rate remains still low. Therefore, the European Central Bank (ECB) is likely to increase its large-scale asset purchase program on Thursday. Moreover, it is expected that the ECB will cut interest rates even further into negative territory. But negative interest rates will worsen the situation, according to a new study of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW).
ECB’s Monetary Policy IW
Fed Increases, ECB Sits Tight
Investors eagerly await the Federal Reserve Bank’s and the European Central Bank’s forthcoming interest rate decisions. When will both central banks start hiking their policy interest rates? A study from the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW) shows that the Fed will start its lift-off this year, while the ECB will stick to its accommodative monetary policy further on.
Study on monetary policy decisions IW
IW-Konjunkturampel: Grünes Licht für Deutschland
Die deutsche Wirtschaft befand sich im Frühjahr 2015 auf einem guten Kurs. Das zeigt die neue Konjunkturampel des Instituts der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln (IW), die künftig regelmäßig erscheinen wird. Die Ampelskala schafft es, konjunkturelle Dynamiken im internationalen Vergleich einerseits übersichtlich, andererseits differenziert darzustellen.
Michael Grömling IW
No “wage dumping” in Germany
Both at home and abroad, Germany has been accused in many quarters of what is commonly referred to in Germany as “wage dumping”, or paying excessively low wages. However, a look at the manufacturing industry – which is at the heart of international exchange and competition – shows no evidence that wages have been kept at an excessively low level.
Comparison of labour costs and unit labour costs IW
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