July / August 2016

Are choices of majors and performance at college influenced by gender shares in high school classes, and how is this related to the gender wage gap? If you want to know why the answer is different for boys and girls and the role played by the formation of networks, then check out the recent CESifo Working Paper by Massimo Anelli and Giovanni Peri.

Other CESifo Working Papers
Working Paper Submission Form

According to Ifo President Clemens Fuest, German politicians have scope for tax cuts. Low interest rates and the record high level of employment provide the necessary flexibility. In addition, the share of income taxes relative to total public revenues is steadily increasing. Read why Clemens Fuest suggests that particularly lower-income groups should benefit from tax reductions.

Business confidence in Germany has clearly worsened. The Ifo Business Climate Index fell from 108.3 points in July to 106.2 points in August. Both the current business situation and the expectations for the next six months were assessed more poorly by the companies than in the previous month. The German economy has fallen into a summer slump.

The Ifo Index for the world economy fell by 4.5 index points to 86.0 in the third quarter, dipping to its lowest level in over three years at ten index points below its long-term average. These results contrast with the improvement seen last quarter. Experts' assessments of the current economic situation remain unfavourable, while their economic expectations are far more negative than last quarter. Sentiment in the world economy is subdued.

Other Economic Indicators:
Credit Constraints Increase Again
Ifo Business Climate Index for Eastern Germany Falls Again
Favourable Outlook for Employment in Germany
Ifo Export Climate Falls Slightly
Weakened Export Expectations in German Industry

Why is Europe's great monetary endeavour, the Euro, in trouble? Together with his co-authors Harold James and Jean-Pierre Landau Markus K. Brunnermeier, the newly appointed director of the Macro Area of the CESifo Research Network gets to the core of this question arguing that the main problem with the Euro lies in the differences in economic philosophies between the founding countries of the Eurozone, particularly Germany and France. But the authors also show how these seemingly incompatible differences can be reconciled to ensure Europe's survival. Weaving together economic analysis and historical reflection, "The Euro and the Battle of Ideas" provides a forensic investigation and a road map for Europe's future.
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Other recent Publications:
The Economics and Political Economy of Energy Subsidies

Other Publications of Interest:
Economic Policy
CESifo Forum
CESifo Economic Studies
CESifo DICE Report
CESifo World Economic Survey
CESifo Working Papers

The results of the conference "Germany and Turkey in Europe: Economic and Political Challenges and Possible Options" held at the Ifo Institute in April 2016 are summarised in the latest issue of CESifo Forum. The event, jointly organised by the Istanbul Policy Center (IPC) and the Ifo Institute, looked at the current economic and political challenges facing Turkey and Germany.

Other Ifo News
Oliver Falck Appointed Director of INT and Professor of Economics, esp. Empirical Innovation Economics

CESifo and the IIPF jointly organise the annual Richard Musgrave Lecture, they are neighbours at the Ifo Institute's premises in Munich, and cooperate in a host of different ways. CESifo is therefore glad to report on the latest IIPF Annual Congress, which took place from 9 to 11 August 2016 at Lake Tahoe, USA. With Nevada (and not California) hosting the event, game theory may have seemed like a more appropriate topic than public finance for this important gathering of economists. In reality, the 360 participants dealt with public economics in over 70 sessions, with the keynote speeches at the event focusing on "Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Public Policy". Read the IIPF’s report on its Annual Congress.