The Return of German Pessimism
The End of Modell Deutschland Germans have been notoriously pessimistic throughout their history. Walter Laquer, a long-time analyst of Europe, once laid the origins of this pessimism to the Thirty …
The Illusion of Effortless Prosperity
This article originally appeared in German in Die WELT. Germany is in decline. Not just since the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war—the relevant performance indicators have been trending negative …
Social Divisions and Questions of Identity in Germany and the United States
Consequences for Politics and Society An Exchange Outside of the Metropolitan Areas A Three-Year AGI Project – Final Conference Summary In recent years, open communication and compromise have been neglected …
Glendale & Memmingen
Reflections on Social Divisions & Questions of Identity in Germany and the United States In September 2022 and March 2023, the third cohort of the AGI Social Divisions and Questions …
The Rise and Fall of Industrial Cities on Both Sides of the Atlantic
This article was originally published in German at the German Economic Institute (IW Köln). Buffalo (New York) and Dortmund (North Rhine Westphalia) as well as Akron (Ohio) and Chemnitz (Saxony) …
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Support Our WorkInflation: Pressure is easing, but it will not disappear completely
The statisticians who calculate the inflation rate have had a challenging job over the past three years. The calculation of the inflation rate is based on the consumer price basket …
Universal Basic Income in Germany
This past spring, eye-catching posters from the organization Expedition Grundeinkommen (Expedition Basic Income) could be seen all over Berlin. With their colorful, cartoonish images and hopeful slogans (“more solidarity,” “less …
Buffalo: The Past, Present, & Future
Shifting Divisions & Reasons to Billieve* In June of 2022, a group of German and American participants from AGI’ss Social Divisions and Questions of Identity in Germany and the United …
A New Fiscal Policy Regime? Germany’s Fiscal Policy in the Wake of the Pandemic
Many observers were surprised by Germany’s fiscal policy response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Not only did the parliament temporarily suspend the constitutional debt brake (Schuldenbremse), but also the government orchestrated …
Recovering More Than Profits
According to the usual statistics, the United States is leading the pack out of the pandemic. Already by the end of 2021, GDP was 5 percent higher than at the …
Labor and Social Welfare Policies in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Germany and the United States Compared The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread standstill of substantial parts of the economy have had an unprecedented impact on businesses and …