Auch 2014 ist die nachhaltige Überwindung der Krise des Euroraums die bedeutendste Herausforderung für die Wirtschaftspolitik. Da die Geldpolitik ist mittlerweile am Ende ihrer konventionellen Möglichkeiten angelangt, ist nun die Fiskalpolitik im Euroraum insgesamt gefordert, expansive...

In the last decade economic policy in Germany was strongly focused on supply-side policies, and the demand side was mainly ignored. Labour-market and welfare-state reforms reduced firms' costs from wages, social security contributions, and taxes. The aim was to increase incentives for job...

Mit den empirischen Analysen zu den gesamtwirtschaftlichen Effekten der Einführung des gesetzlichen Mindestlohns in Deutschland versucht das IMK, die eingetretenen kurzfristigen und die noch zu erwartenden mittel- bis langfristigen Wachstums-, Preis- und Beschäftigungseffekte mit Hilfe eines...

The German minimum wage was introduced in January 2015. This paper investigates the short-term macroeconomic impacts of its introduction. Therefore, an estimated VAR/VECM is used to perform forecasts that are interpreted as counterfactual to the introduction of the minimum wage and compared to...

We analyse measures of internal flexibility taken to safeguard employment during the Coronavirus Crisis in comparison to the Great Recession. Cyclical working-time reductions are again a major factor in safeguarding employment. Whereas during the Great Recession all working-time instruments...

Germany and the United States pursued different economic strategies to minimise the impact of the Coronavirus Crisis on the labour market. Germany focused on safeguarding existing jobs through the use of internal flexibility measures, especially short-time work (STW). The United States relied on...

The ECB's expansionary monetary policy has positive effects on the euro area economy. Interest rates have declined further, bank lending is improving, and the euro is weaker. However, inflation remains much too low and aggregate demand too weak for the output gap to close rapidly. Further...