Digitization is penetrating all areas of life and networking people, machines and processes. This is creating immense opportunities for the German economy.
About the topic
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.
Expertise 8. September 2026 Jan Büchel / Jan Engler / Armin Mertens
AI skills demand in the EU
More and more companies in Europe are using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. In 2025, one in five companies in the EU with 10 employees or more used at least one major AI technology, up from 8% in 2023 (Eurostat, 2026a).
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.
Jan Büchel / Jan Felix Engler / Nicolai Krüger* IW
IW-Policy Paper No. 12 6. November 2025 Barbara Engels / Jennifer Potthoff
Social Media, Markets and Minors: A Behavioral Ethics Perspective
Social media has become a central infrastructure of adolescence, offering benefits such as social connection, informal learning, creative expression, and low-cost entrepreneurial opportunities, while simultaneously posing risks including depression, body image concerns, and opaque commercial persuasion.
The German Economic Institute (IW) and Frontier Economics are pleased to invite you to a rapporteur & stakeholder workshop on the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) in Brussels.
Event
28. September 2026
Sandra Parthie / Alexander Radunz
Online-Veranstaltungsreihe „Von Brüssel nach Berlin”: Regionalentwicklung und Industriepolitik
Wir laden Sie herzlich zu einer weiteren Online-Veranstaltung unserer Veranstaltungsreihe „Von Brüssel nach Berlin“ ein. Mit ihr wollen wir in loser Folge Themen aus der europäischen in die deutsche Hauptstadt tragen.
Making Apprenticeships a Success: From Marketing to Hiring
Paula Risius / Dirk Werner / Philip Herzer / Fritz Orange / Regina Flake / Franziska Arndt / Yasin Küçükyavuz / Edgar Schmitz
In-company vocational training is a key factor in securing skilled labour. The first step in investing in future employees is to approach and recruit new apprentices. For many companies, filling the apprenticeship positions they offer is a challenge.
GTIPA Perspectives: Making AI Policy to Drive Innovation
Vera Demary
Germany’s federal structure leads to a diverse landscape of AI policies across the country. While
the EU AI Act establishes a general framework for AI policy throughout the continent, Germany’s
federal government is responsible for national AI policies.
More and more companies in Europe are using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. In 2025, one in five companies in the EU with 10 employees or more used at least one major AI technology, up from 8% in 2023 (Eurostat, 2026a).
Contribution
31. August 2026
Samina Sultan in the Financial Times
Letter: Expanded EU carbon border tax is not a reaction to US tariffs
In his op-ed (August 12) Andrew Puzder, the US ambassador to the EU, accused the EU of double standards. He argued that criticising US tariffs on steel and aluminium derivatives while simultaneously imposing Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism charges on the same products, is hypocritical.
European Minimum Wage Directive and Strengthening Collective Bargaining Coverage
Hagen Lesch / Lennart Eckle / Sandra Vogel
The EU Minimum Wage Directive recommends that EU Member States achieve a collective bargaining coverage of 80 per cent to ensure adequate minimum wages.
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