11.03.2021 • 8/2021
New wave of infections suspends economic recovery
The lockdown is being eased only slightly in Germany in March 2021, and gross domestic product (GDP) declines significantly in the first quarter of 2021. As vaccination campaigns progress and restrictions are gradually eased, a normalisation of household consumption patterns will likely boost the economy later during the year. The Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) forecasts that GDP will increase by 3.7% in 2021, following a decline of 4.9% in 2020. In East Germany, both the contraction and the rebound are much less pronounced.
Oliver Holtemöller
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The Real Impact of Ratings-based Capital Rules on the Finance-Growth Nexus
Iftekhar Hasan, Gazi Hassan, Suk-Joong Kim, Eliza Wu
International Review of Financial Analysis,
January
2021
Abstract
We investigate whether ratings-based capital regulation has affected the finance-growth nexus via a foreign credit channel. Using quarterly data on short to medium term real GDP growth and cross-border bank lending flows from G-10 countries to 67 recipient countries, we find that since the implementation of Basel 2 capital rules, risk weight reductions mapped to sovereign credit rating upgrades have stimulated short-term economic growth in investment grade recipients but hampered growth in non-investment grade recipients. The impact of these rating upgrades is strongest in the first year and then reverses from the third year and onwards. On the other hand, there is a consistent and lasting negative impact of risk weight increases due to rating downgrades across all recipient countries. The adverse effects of ratings-based capital regulation on foreign bank credit supply and economic growth are compounded in countries with more corruption and less competitive banking sectors and are attenuated with greater political stability.
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16.12.2020 • 26/2020
New wave of infections delays economic recovery in Germany
The lockdown is causing production in Germany to decline at the end of the year. When restrictions will be relaxed again, the recovery is likely to pick up pace only slowly, partly because the temporary reduction in value-added taxes is expiring. In spring, milder temperatures and an increasing portion of the population being vaccinated are likely to support the German economy to expand more strongly. The Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) forecasts that gross domestic product will increase by 4.4% in 2021, following a 5% decline in 2020. In East Germany, both the decline and the recovery will be significantly less pronounced.
Oliver Holtemöller
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Kommentar: Finanzstabilität in Zeiten von Corona
Reint E. Gropp
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 3,
2020
Abstract
Die Corona-bedingte Wirtschaftskrise könnte den deutschen Bankensektor massiv in Mitleidenschaft ziehen, wenn die nationale und europäische Aufsicht nicht in den nächsten Monaten gegensteuert. Das ist die Aussage einer IWH-Studie, in der wir die Jahresabschlüsse von mehr als einer halben Million deutscher Unternehmen mit den Bilanzdaten von über 1 000 hiesigen Banken verknüpft haben. Die Stichprobe umfasst rund 90% der Bilanzsumme aller Banken und schließt alle großen systemrelevanten Geldhäuser mit ein. Wir benutzen dabei sektorspezifische Prognosen für die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung: Wir beziehen also die Tatsache mit ein, dass die Tourismusbranche besonders und die Baubranche relativ wenig von der Krise betroffen ist. Wir simulieren mehrere Szenarien: eines mit einer schnellen Erholung (V-förmig), eines mit einer relativ langsamen Erholung (U) und ein Szenario, in dem die Krise noch eine längere Zeit anhält (L).
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Sovereign Default Risk, Macroeconomic Fluctuations and Monetary-Fiscal Stabilisation
Markus Kirchner, Malte Rieth
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 22,
2020
Abstract
This paper examines the role of sovereign default beliefs for macroeconomic fluctuations and stabilisation policy in a small open economy where fiscal solvency is a critical problem. We set up and estimate a DSGE model on Turkish data and show that accounting for sovereign risk significantly improves the fit of the model through an endogenous amplication between default beliefs, exchange rate and inflation movements. We then use the estimated model to study the implications of sovereign risk for stability, fiscal and monetary policy, and their interaction. We find that a relatively strong fiscal feedback from deficits to taxes, some exchange rate targeting, or a monetary response to default premia are more effective and efficient stabilisation tools than hawkish inflation targeting.
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Recovery Loses Momentum – Economy and Politics Still Shaped by the Pandemic
Oliver Holtemöller, Stefan Kooths, Claus Michelsen, Torsten Schmidt, Timo Wollmershäuser
Wirtschaftsdienst,
No. 11,
2020
Abstract
Infolge der Maßnahmen zur Eindämmung der Corona-Pandemie ist die deutsche Wirtschaftsleistung in der ersten Jahreshälfte drastisch gesunken, vor allem in den Monaten März und April. Schon im Mai setzte eine kräftige Gegenbewegung ein, die sich in nahezu allen Branchen bis zum aktuellen Rand fortsetzte. Dieser Erholungsprozess dürfte an Fahrt verlieren. Die Institute erwarten daher nach einem Rückgang des Bruttoinlandsprodukts um 5,4 % (2020) einen Zuwachs um 4,7 % (2021) und um 2,7 % im Jahr 2022. Sie revidieren damit ihre Prognose aufgrund des nunmehr etwas schwächeren Erholungsprozesses gegenüber dem Frühjahr nach unten. Die Wirtschaftspolitik hat frühzeitig mit massiven finanzpolitischen Maßnahmen auf die Corona-Krise reagiert. Die Konjunkturprogramme haben im Zusammenspiel mit den automatischen Stabilisatoren dazu beigetragen, dass die verfügbaren Einkommen der privaten Haushalte selbst in der akuten Krisenphase insgesamt stabil blieben.
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14.10.2020 • 22/2020
Economic slump in East Germany not as severe as in Germany as a whole ‒ Implications of the Joint Economic Forecast and new data for East Germany
The German economy started recovering quickly after the drastic pandemic-related slump in spring 2020. The recovery, however, loses much of its momentum in the second half of the year. The Joint Economic Forecast predicts that production levels seen before the crisis will not be reached again until the second half of 2021. In principle, the East German economy is following this pattern, although the economic slump is likely to be somewhat milder.
Oliver Holtemöller
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14.10.2020 • 21/2020
Recovery Loses Momentum ‒ Economy and Politics Still Shaped by the Pandemic
The corona pandemic leaves substantial marks in the German economy and its impact is more persistent than assumed in spring. In their autumn report, the leading German economic research institutes have revised their economic outlook downwards by roughly one percentage point for both this and next year. They now expect gross domestic product to fall by 5.4% in 2020 (previously -4.2%) and to grow by 4.7% (5.8%) in 2021 and 2.7% in 2022.
Oliver Holtemöller
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06.10.2020 • 19/2020
IWH Bankruptcy Update: Bankruptcies Stabilise at a Low Level; Number of Affected Jobs Remains High
The number of companies declaring bankruptcy in Germany was very low in September, and no significant increase is expected in the coming months. By contrast, the number of jobs impacted by corporate bankruptcies remained elevated in September; monthly layoff figures have increased significantly since the beginning of the year. These are the key findings of the IWH Bankruptcy Update, a monthly monitor of insolvency statistics published by the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
Steffen Müller
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16.09.2020 • 18/2020
Economy recovers from the shutdown – but a quick return to pre-crisis normality is unlikely
The German economy has bounced back strongly over the summer, recovering a considerable part of the production slump caused by the shutdown in spring. Nevertheless, real gross domestic product in 2020 is likely to contract by 5.7%. In 2021, growth is expected to average 3.2% according to IWH autumn economic forecast. The decline in production in 2020 is likely to be less pronounced in East Germany com¬pared to Germany as a whole.
Oliver Holtemöller
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