In the face of interest rates having hit their zero lower bound in major economies, large-scale asset purchases have become an important weapon of central banks in recent years. It is, however, not clear whether and under which circumstances such policy measures produce the desired effects. This...

Not just since the European Central Bank announced the large-scale purchase of government bonds a few weeks ago, large-scale asset purchases have always been a controversially discussed topic. This DIW Roundup summarizes the measures that have been taken by central banks in Japan, USA and UK and...

Unter Ökonomen setzt sich verstärkt die Erkenntnis durch, dass für die Erklärung ökonomischen sowie generellen Verhaltens neben kognitiven Fähigkeiten auch Faktoren wie soziale Fertigkeiten und Wertvorstellungen eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Entsprechend wird in ökonomischen...

The recent financial crisis has exposed the fragility of the banking sector to sudden withdrawals of wholesale funding, asset price declines and market dry-ups. Governments and central banks had to step in to prevent major banks from defaulting. These events led to renewed interest in the...

In den vergangenen Jahren ist die Zahl der Studienanfängerinnen und -anfänger an deutschen Hochschulen deutlich gestiegen. Ihren bisherigen Rekordwert erreichte sie im Studienjahr 2011: Damals schrieben sich 518 700 Studienanfängerinnen und -anfänger erstmals an einer deutschen Hochschule...

Mit dem Referentenentwurf für das Gesetz über Leistungsverbesserungen in der gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung leitet die neue Bundesarbeitsministerin Andrea Nahles das erste große Reformvorhaben der Großen Koalition für die parlamentarische Debatte nach Ostern ein. Innerhalb des Rentenpakets...

The question of whether monetary policy should target asset prices remains a contentious issue. Prior to the 2007/08 financial crisis, central banks opted for a wait-and-see approach, remaining passive during the build-up of asset price bubbles but actively seeking to stabilize prices and output...

After Easter, Germany's new labor and social affairs minister Andrea Nahles will be presenting the grand coalition's first major reform proposal for parliamentary debate: a bill to improve the benefits provided under the statutory pension system. A centerpiece of the reform package is early...