From an economic perspective, it is beneficial if policymakers invest in the bright minds of tomorrow and create a competitive, innovative and equitable education system in Germany. The Education Monitor - one of the most important studies on education in Germany - shows that Germany can do even better here.
About the topic
Schools and universities are not producing enough well-educated young people. This is leading to shortages of skilled workers, which are being exacerbated by demographic change and, as a result, falling numbers of schoolchildren and students as the workforce ages. This makes it all the more important for the state to invest in education and provide the best possible training for existing children and young people. The expansion of early childhood education and all-day care at daycare centers and schools will have a particularly strong impact. Good foundations at the start of education benefit later phases of education, when more is learned. At the same time, families can better realize their employment aspirations and thus also contribute to securing a skilled workforce. Through its subsidiary IW Junior, the IW is also committed to expanding economic education.
IW-Report No. 38 11. September 2026 Paula Risius et al.
Making Apprenticeships a Success: From Marketing to Hiring
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.
Paula Risius / Dirk Werner / Philip Herzer / Fritz Orange / Regina Flake / Franziska Arndt / Yasin Küçükyavuz / Edgar Schmitz IW
Whilst there has been much discussion about parental allowance (Elterngeld) in recent years, parental leave (Elternzeit) has been largely overlooked in the public eye. This is partly because very little is known about how it is taken up.
According to micro-census data (and excluding the ethnic Germans who immigrated from eastern Europe in the 1990s and automatically received citizenship on arrival), in 2022 there were 2.69 million naturalised citizens living in Germany.
Research Unit: Education, Immigration and Innovation
From an economic perspective, it is beneficial if policymakers invest in the bright minds of tomorrow and create a competitive, innovative and equitable education system in Germany. The Education Monitor - one of the most important studies on education in Germany - shows that Germany can do even better here.
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.
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.
Securing Energy Supply While Advancing Climate Goals
Andreas Fischer in Intereconomics
Europe faces a dual challenge: eliminating lingering dependencies on energy imports while simultaneously accelerating the transformation towards climate neutrality.
Collective bargaining coverage and functional income distribution in international comparison
Christoph Schröder
The study examines whether a high level of collective bargaining coverage influences the functional income distribution between companies and employees.
Trade and Cooperation Between the EU and the Gulf States
Simon Gerards Iglesias / Nicolas Reeves*
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).
AI Specialists in Public Administration – Needs and Options for Action
Jan Büchel / Jan Felix Engler / Nicolai Krüger*
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.
Free and Fair Trade Club to build Middle Power Weight
Jürgen Matthes
This paper proposes that the EU should build a cooperation platform together with the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership).
Free and Fair Trade Club – Deeper Cooperation Between the EU and the CPTPP
Jürgen Matthes in Intereconomics
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.
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