Digitisation

Digitization is penetrating all areas of life and networking people, machines and processes. This is creating immense opportunities for the German economy.

In Germany, it has triggered a profound structural change in all areas of the economy and society. This digital transformation holds enormous opportunities, and they must be exploited - including, but not limited to, the automation and networking of value creation processes under the buzzword Industry 4.0. Autonomization in particular, i.e. enabling machines to organize, repair and optimize themselves, opens up extensive opportunities.

The prerequisites for digital transformation are nationwide high-speed networks and an unbureaucratic and capital-rich innovation environment. Employees also face challenges: Companies must identify the new requirements for employee qualifications and train employees accordingly. In addition, companies, especially from the SME sector, must drive digitization more strongly in their own operations, for example by refining their business models and developing new ones, for example in cooperation with startups. On this page you will find various topics and current studies from the field of digitization.

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Results of the 10th IW Survey of Further Training

Susanne Seyda ·
IW-Trends Nr. 1 ·
24 March 2021

Digital Learning Media Boost Continuing Vocational Training in Enterprises

Digitalisation is leading to an increasing need for training. Companies which have already achieved a higher level of digitalisation see a greater need for further training than their less digitalised peers and are investing correspondingly more time and money in training their workforce.

Limits of Data Availability and First Estimates

Manuel Fritsch / Karl Lichtblau ·
IW-Trends Nr. 1 ·
15 March 2021

The Digital Economy in Germany

For many years now an OECD working group has been developing and coordinating an internationally comparable quantification of the economic effects of digitalisation. However, the practical value of this initiative is limited by the nature of the available data.

Manuel Fritsch / Karl Lichtblau ·
Expertise ·
15 March 2021

The digital economy in Germany: Data availability and initial estimates

In a satellite account, a specific horizontal area of the economy is extracted from the System of National Accounts (SNA) and modelled as a separate product or industry group (satellite). The term “satellite” refers to the chosen subsets of sectors or economic activities in that system.

Updated Findings on the Potential Employment Effects of Digitalisation

Oliver Stettes ·
IW-Trends Nr. 4 ·
16 December 2020

(No) Fear of Robots?

The effect of digital technologies on employment remains diffuse. Recent empirical analyses at the establishment and occupational levels certainly find no evidence that the digital transition has led, or will lead, to systematic job cuts.

Results of the IW Survey of Further Training 2020

Susanne Seyda / Beate Placke ·
IW-Trends Nr. 4 ·
16 December 2020

Continuing Vocational Training Goes on Growing

The latest IW Survey of Further Training shows that 87.9 per cent of companies in Germany offer their employees continuing vocational training. In 2019, an average of 18.3 hours per employee was spent acquiring additional skills in this way, a full hour more than in 2016.

Jan Büchel / Christian Rusche ·
IW-Policy Paper Nr. 26 ·
7 December 2020

Competition in the digital Economy: An analysis of Gatekeepers and Regulations

The Digital Age saw the rise of several rapidly growing digital platforms with substantial market shares. Europe is a large target market for these globally operating platforms, although the majority of the most successful platforms come from the USA or Asia.

The Importance of E-Commerce, Digital Trade, and Maintaining the WTO E-Commerce Customs Duty Moratorium

Hubertus Bardt / Aljoscha Nau ·
External Publication ·
27 October 2020

GTIPA Perspectives: The Importance of E-Commerce, Digital Trade

Digital trade can be divided into three different elements, all of which are highly relevant for the German economy: Electronic commerce is becoming more and more important in international distributed value chains; exchange of data is critical for future industrial processes; and trade of information and communication technologies is essential to purchasing necessary technologies and export respective products.

Alevtina Krotova / Armin Mertens / Marc Scheufen ·
IW-Policy Paper Nr. 21 ·
13 October 2020

An Economic Analysis: Open data and data sharing

Data is an important business resource. It forms the basis for various digital technologies such as artificial intelligence or smart services. However, access to data is unequally distributed in the market. Hence, some business ideas fail due to a lack of data sources.

Vera Demary / Barbara Engels / Christian Rusche ·
External Publication ·
24 September 2020

Differentiated Treatment of Business Users by Online Platforms

Online platforms have gained importance in the past couple of years. They are present all over the world and in many sectors of the economy. Their main purpose is to facilitate transactions between various user groups. Hence, online platforms can be defined as online spaces in which users are brought together by a platform operator, in order to facilitate an interaction (the exchange of information, a commercial transaction, etc.).

Armin Mertens / Ruth Maria Schüler ·
IW-Report Nr. 47 ·
14 September 2020

Online petitions as an indicator of current polarization tendencies

The COVID-19 measures of the federal and state governments have at times massively affected public life in Germany. The ban on contact has temporarily restricted the freedom to pursue a profession, the freedom of trade, compulsory education and religious freedom.