The Bologna process, initiated in 1999, was meant to be a decisive step in creating a European university system. Has the reform failed? Annette Schavan, Federal Minister for Education and Research, stresses that the Bologna process has successfully brought about many important changes at German universities and allowed a convergence of the European university systems. However, mistakes have also been made, for example, where the curriculum of the Diplom or Magister courses has been simply transposed to the Bachelor curriculum. Another problem with the reform is the unnecessary density of regulations. But not least because of the student protests some movement has come to the university landscape. For Dieter Timmermann, Rector of the University of Bielefeld, a reform of the Bologna process is urgently necessary. He proposes the implementation of the North American model, namely a gradated system of study with the goals of an "academically based personality formation in the Bachelor course", a profession-oriented academic masters training in the "professional schools" and the training of doctoral students at the highest academic level in the "graduate schools". Wolfgang Heubisch, Bavarian State Minister for Science, Research and Art, sees no need for reform, neither of the goals not of the instruments. What is lacking is a systematic implementation of the Bologna process at the European and national levels. Also Horst Hippler, President of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, sees deficiencies in the implementation of the reform.
Norbert Berthold, Nadya Kosturkova and Andreas Müller
Norbert Berthold, Nadya Kosturkova and Andreas Müller, University of Würzburg, evaluate the success and activities of the German federal states in business location competition for the period 2006 to 2008. The study measures the success of the individual states by means of six variables. These are combined to form a success index that indicates how successful the states were relative to each other. In addition, factors that the states influence that have a significant effect on the six variables are identified. These factors explain to a great extent the varying performance of the federal states. As with the success index, the activity levels are combined to form an activity index that allows for a direct comparison of the efforts of the states relative to each other. This article gives information on how the states have performed in the activity and success indices.
Hans-Dieter Karl
The use of fossil energy sources depends decisively on the costs of their production. A primary role is played by the cost of extracting these energy commodities. The goal of this study is a determination of the unit costs for the production of mineral oil, natural gas and coal from the currently used deposits and an estimate of the unit costs of extraction from future deposits.
Wolfgang Nierhaus
For years the Ifo Institute has critically examined the quality of its own economic activity forecasts, discussing the reasons for differences between its forecasts and reality. In the wake of the dramatic worsening of the world financial crisis, at the end of 2008 the Ifo Institute clearly revised its forecast for Germany downwards, in comparison to the autumn forecast of the institutes, but it still underestimated the extent of the economic downturn. The forecasting error, on average for the year, of 2.8 percentage points is due to a considerable extent to an underestimate of the statistical underhang at the end of 2008. The remaining forecasting error of 1.7 percentage points is a result of a miscalculation of the course of economic activity in 2009. All in all, the recession in Germany was deeper than had been anticipated in December 2008.
Marc Gronwald and Jana Lippelt
Current data on worldwide net electricity imports show some movement in the development of net electricity imports in Europe. In 2008, for example, Germany exported a net amount of electricity, whereas for the 1990s and the early 2000s we have a rather uneven pattern with negligible import or export amounts.
Wolfgang Ochel
In Germany the debate has been re-opened concerning the Hartz-IV legislation. A comparison of the data from 29 OECD countries shows that, on average over five years, an unemployed person in Germany receives 45% of his former net income. This puts Germany, along with France, in 7th place of the countries considered here.
Nick Hoffmann
Whereas Germany only has obligatory minimum wages for several industries and occupations, 22 of the 27 EU member states have comprehensive minimum wages (status: 1 January 2010). The amount of statutory minimum wages in the European Union for a 40-hour week ranges between 122 euros a month in Bulgaria to 1,641 euros a month in Luxembourg.
Erich Gluch
According to the results of the quarterly survey of the Ifo Institute conducted among freelance architects, the business climate at the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2009 improved again. For the first time in 15 years, the business climate is in positive territory. For the past five years the climate has gradually improved, with two setbacks, and can now be seen as "good".
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