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The introduction of the Transparency in Wage Structures Act (EntgTranspG) in 2017 in Germany aimed to enforce the principle of equal pay for women and men. The main focus was on the statistically unexplained part of the gender pay gap and the resulting view that the practical application of the equal pay principle had not been realised. The first evaluation of the law was presented in July 2019.
Germany faces enormous challenges in modernizing its capital stock. After neglecting public investment over the last two decades, it is now necessary to update the infrastructure and gradually reduce the investment backlog.
Germany is in need of investment. This applies to both private and public investment, since it serves as intermediate input for entrepreneurial activity and efficient coordination of microeconomic transactions.
In Germany 9 out of 10 citizens are covered by the statutory health insurance scheme (SHI), which is organised on a pay-as-you-go basis. One tenth of the population, on the other hand, is covered by funded private health insurance schemes.
The training participation of the low-skilled has increased significantly in recent decades. The main reasons are higher requirements and technical changes, which also affect the activities of low-skilled workers.
The digital transformation in Germany's economy and society is in full swing. Not all of the indicators of Germany's technological performance show a pioneering role in digitization. The technological trends will therefore not remain without effects on the business models of companies operating in Germany.
The indebtedness of the municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has increased significantly over the past 20 years. Politicians have mainly used cash loans, which are generally intended to provide short term liquidity. However, the steady rise in cash loans shows that they are rather used for general budgetary financing.
The good news is that Europe will not be dominated by populist parties. For big tent parties, i.e. the conservative EPP and the social democratic PES, however, results still aren’t rosy – they are looking at heavy losses, including the loss of their joint majority.
The introduction of the German debt brake 10 years ago was justified from a historical perspective. Compared to the early 1960s, the debt ratio had more than quadrupled from 20 to 80 percent despite consolidation efforts. In addition, due to government bonds yields well above the GDP growth rate, it was assumed that public borrowing would result in an intergenerational redistribution at the expense of future generations.
The European Union is currently making significant strides to lead on green finance and align its financial system with its climate, sustainability and clean energy ambitions. To this end, the European Commission presented three legislative proposals on sustainable finance in May 2018.
