Private businesses' nominal value added in Greece has fallen by 38 percent over the last ten years. Micro firms were hit particularly hard. Despite efforts to stabilize the macroeconomic environment, there are only weak signs of recovery. Future prospects are not much better, as-with the...

Ten years after the worldwide financial and economic crisis was triggered by the American real estate market, real estate prices are rising around the globe. Concerns about a new housing bubble are growing. The present report based on OECD data for 20 countries demonstrates that this concern is...

Duties and taxes on cars are an important source of revenue for European governments and the tax systems are also designed with the goal of achieving environmental policy objectives. A systematic and quantitative comparison of passenger car taxation in 30 European countries shows significant...

Power generation from lignite and hard coal was responsible for more than a quarter of German greenhouse gas emissions in 2016. Of all federal states, North Rhine-Westphalia is by far the largest carbon emitter. The Growth, Structural Change and Regional Development Commission (also known as...

Women still earn less than men on average in Germany. This applies to management positions even more: between 2010 and 2016, there was an average gender pay gap of 30 percent in gross hourly earnings. If gender-specific differences in relevant wage determinants are excluded, a pay gap of 11...

After a strong second quarter, the global upturn appears to remain intact, economic and political turmoils notwithstanding, especially in the United States and the euro area. Therefore, DIW Berlin is slightly raising its forecast for the global economy this year to 4.2 percent. Over the course...

Earnings differences are a recurring topic of public discussion in Germany. Data from the long-term Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study as well as a separate survey of German employees (LINOS) show that earnings inequalities are generally perceived as fair while a substantial share of the...

The presently tenuous situation in Turkey will worsen if the government does not take appropriate policy action. In view of foreign investors' loss of confidence, the cost of external financing is likely to rise while consumption and investment will fall, and the Turkish lira would depreciate...

The German economy will keep on growing amid risks although growth will slow down somewhat. GDP will continue to grow noticeably at 1.8 percent this year, 1.7 percent next year, and 1.8 percent in 2020. Private household incomes in particular-and thus consumption as well-are boosting growth, as...

Weather index insurance is considered a promising international climate policy instrument that can help households adapt better to climate change. This is especially true in developing countries where households often suffer severely from the consequences of extreme weather events. This report...