Germany : Selected Issues.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

International Monetary Fund. European Department.

Series:

IMF Staff Country Reports; Country Report ; No. 2014/217

IMF Staff Country Reports

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Industrial productivity--Germany.

Industrial productivity.

Labor market--Germany.

Labor market.

Unemployment--Germany.

Unemployment.

Germany--Economic conditions--1990-.

Germany.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (73 p.)

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This Selected Issues paper on Germany focuses on current economic condition in the country. The build-up of Germany’s current account surplus over the last decade does not lend itself to a single-factor explanation, as both global and domestic factors, as well as policy changes led to increased savings and lower investment. All sectors contributed to the build-up of the surplus. Although fiscal consolidation and higher household savings played a role, the corporate sector experienced a more pronounced shift. This paper provides a retrospective on these developments and explores whether the factors contributing to the surplus are likely to be reversed going forward. Although there are common global drivers for the non-financial corporations shift to a net lender position, several German-specific factors played a role, notably the labor market reforms in the 2000s, the business tax reforms, and the globalization of German firms’ production chains. The households’ saving–investment gap widened in the early 2000s as the pension reforms and growing income inequality boosted households’ savings and residential investment declined by the end of the reunification construction boom.

Contents:

""Cover""; ""CONTENTS""; ""I. THE GERMAN CURRENT ACCOUNT: A RETROSPECTIVE""; ""A. Background""; ""B. The Evolution of Household Net Savings""; ""C. Drivers of German Corporate Sector Net Savings""; ""D. Conclusions""; ""TABLE""; ""1. Nonfinancial Corporate Sector: Change in Selected Variables""; ""REFERENCES""; ""II. THE INTRODUCTION OF MINIMUM WAGE IN GERMANY: SOME CONSIDERATIONS""; ""A. Why a Minimum Wage in Germany?""; ""B. The Case for and Against the Minimum Wage""; ""C. Assessing the Impact of Minimum Wage in Germany""; ""D. Future Decisions about the Minimum Wage""; ""BOX""

""1. Germany�s In-Work Benefit System""""TABLES""; ""1. Selected Studies on Labor Demand Elasticities and Minimum Wage Impact in Germany""; ""2. Summary of Minimum Wage Systems in Select Advanced Economies""; ""REFERENCES""; ""III. WHICH POLICIES CAN BOOST GERMAN GROWTH AND REDUCE THE CURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUS?""; ""A. Higher Public Investment""; ""B. Accommodative Regional Monetary Policy""; ""C. Implementation""; ""D. Financing""; ""E. Higher Private Investment""; ""F. Service Sector Reforms""; ""FIGURES""; ""1. Higher Public Spending""; ""2. Higher Public Investment""

""3. Higher German Public Investment With and Without Time-to-Build""""4. Financing Public Investment""; ""5. Higher Private Investment""; ""6. Services Sector Reforms""; ""APPENDIX FIGURES""; ""1. Private Investment""; ""2. Public Investment""; ""REFERENCES""; ""IV. SERVICES SECTOR PERFORMANCE AND PRODUCT MARKET REGULATION""; ""FIGURE""; ""1. Services Sector Performance""; ""REFERENCES""; ""V. RECENT HOUSING MARKET DEVELOPMENTS""; ""TABLE""; ""1. Institutional Characteristics of Selected National Mortgage Systems""; ""FIGURE""; ""1. Recent Housing Market Developments""; ""REFERENCES""

""VI. THE GERMAN MACROPRUDENTIAL FRAMEWORK""""BOXES""; ""1. Germany�s Current Macroprudential Toolkit""; ""2. The usefulness of LTV, DTI and DSTI instrument""; ""REFERENCES""; ""VII. THE GERMAN LIFE INSURANCE SECTOR: CONFRONTING THE CHALLENGE OF LOW INTEREST RATES""; ""A. The German Life Insurance Sector""; ""B. The Challenge of Low Interest Rates""; ""TABLES""; ""1. Life Insurance Market Shares, 2012""; ""2. Gross Technical Provisions, Capital, and Reserves, 2005-2012""; ""3. Life Insurers� Investment Assets, 2005-2012""

""4. Selected European Countries: Guaranteed Rate in Life Insurance Policies, 2013""""REFERENCES""; ""VIII. REGULATORY AND SUPERVISORY ISSUES""; ""IX. CHALLENGES FOR THE BANKING SECTOR AND THE ECB COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT""; ""FIGURES""; ""1. Mixed Picture on Profitability""; ""2. Robust Risk-Based Capital Ratios, But Weaker Leverage""; ""3. Mixed Picture on Funding""; ""4. Relatively Strong Asset Quality Overall""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF cover (ebrary, viewed August 27, 2014).

ISBN:

9781498377782

1498377785

9781498384018

1498384013

9781498323819

1498323812

OCLC:

888748816