Press

In Bavaria, Covid-19 bridging aid was received mainly by the many smaller companies with fewer than 50 employees and in those industries particularly affected by the pandemic. This is the finding of the ifo Institute’s initial evaluation of this aid as part of a study commissioned by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) for Munich and Upper Bavaria. The study assessed seven funding programs with payouts totaling EUR 11.2 billion resulting from more than 300,000 applications. Most of the money went to eateries and hotels, which were among the most affected by pandemic-related closures. These businesses received 40 percent of the total funding, or EUR 4.7 billion. Next came retailers with EUR 1.6 billion and the arts and culture industry with a total of EUR 1.3 billion.

Economic experts in Northern and Eastern Europe are seeing the negative impact of the war in Ukraine on the political and economic situation in their countries particularly clearly. This is a finding of the Economic Experts Survey (EES) conducted by the ifo Institute and the Swiss Economic Policy Institute (IWP). “Since the outbreak of the war, respondents who mention the keywords ‘Russia,’ ‘Ukraine,’ ‘NATO’ or ‘War’ in their answers have a much more negative view of their country’s political and economic situation than the others,” says ifo researcher Tuuli Tähtinen.

In an international comparison of business locations, economics professors gave Germany a grade of just 3.4 (on a scale of 1 to 6, where 1 is the best score). This is according to the latest ifo Institute Economists Panel. A grade of 3 was awarded by 38% of respondents, 20% gave a 2, 17% a 4, and 20% a 5. “This poor result is quite worrying for Germany as an industrial nation,” says Niklas Potrafke, Director of the ifo Center for Public Finance and Political Economy.