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...

The current banking regulatory framework assigns EU government bonds a risk weight of zero. Since the European debt crisis, there has been increasing controversy over eliminating this equity capital privilege, which is viewed as contributing to the close relationship between state and bank...

The global expansion weakened somewhat in the third quarter while the downside risks have increased. DIW Berlin’s forecast- almost unchanged-indicates an expansion in global economic production of 4.3 percent for 2018 and 3.9 percent for 2019. In 2020, momentum will slow down further to 3.6...

The German economy continues to perform well although the boom has ended. However, at 1.5 percent, German GDP will increase this year at a lower rate than expected at the beginning of the year. Nevertheless, concerns about an imminent recession should give way to the assessment that the pace of...

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...

As climate change progresses, extreme weather events are occurring more often, with developing countries suffering the brunt. Using Mongolia as an example, this study examines how extremely cold and snowy winters-which lead to high livestock mortality and thus threaten the livelihood of many...

Households in developing countries are exposed to increasingly extreme weather events that could endanger their prosperity. This study examines the impact of the unusually cold, snowy winter of 2009/2010 on the livestock of Mongolian households. Livestock represents on average more than 90...