INSM English Site

91 % against tax increase

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 09:36:41 GMT

The current national budget amounts to a higher total than ever. The sources of tax revenue are lucrative, the social insurance fund is financially stable. There is no need for a tax increase, according to a paper presented by the Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) on behalf of the INSM, which was supported by a recent survey.

Study: Germany is getting more just

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 10:02:59 GMT

In the last years, Germany has become more just. Significant progress has been made in particular in regard to equality of opportunity, as well as performance fairness and inter-generation fairness, according to a study of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW) that compared 28 OECD countries on behalf of the INSM.

Opportunities are crucial for equality

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 09:41:36 GMT

For the German people, equality of opportunity and participation is at the center of a just society, according to the results of a study that the Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion Research (IfD) carried out on behalf of INSM. "For 90 percent of participants, the goal to give all children the same educational opportunities is crucial for social justice," says Hubertus Pellengahr, CEO of INSM. In a comparison of different aspects of social justice, factors like distributive justice and wealth turn out to be less important. "Only 21 percent of participants prioritize distributive justice, whereas almost three times as many (57 percent) think that equality of opportunity is the most important," says Professor Dr. Renate Köcher, CEO of IfD.

Expertise: Up to 5.5 % less retirement provisions

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 11:24:30 GMT

On Thursday, February 14, 2013, EU commissary Algirdas Semeta is going to present a proposal on the framework for a financial transaction tax in the EU. The tax is supposed to control speculation and, at the same time, provide the treasuries with additional billions. Is this plan going to work out? Probably not. At the very least, there is going to be collateral damage. According to a study for INSM, this tax would mainly affect private investors, to an extend of between 2.5 and 5.5 % of payable pensions.

Economic performance 10 percent higher because of ages 55+

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 15:57:17 GMT

The involvement of older people in the working world will be crucial for securing Germany's wealth in the future. With the aid of target-oriented reforms, Germany's economic performance in 2030 could be 10 percent higher than if the current situation stays the same. The difference per person and year could be as much as 3,500 Euro, according to the group study "Demography and Growth", conducted on behalf of INSM by the Institute for the World Economy (IfW), the Rhenish-Westphalian Institute for Economic Research (RWI) and the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW).

Renewable energy prices keep climbing

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:31:00 GMT

A study conducted by the Institute of Energy Economics at the University of Cologne (EWI) on behalf of the INSM, shows that the cost for the promotion of renewable energies will keep rising until 2018. The scientists expect the annual additional costs for consumers to increase up to 26 billion Euro in 2018.

Minister Pofalla: Energy Turnaround Is On the Right Track

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 15:02:08 GMT

"The federal government is consistently and gradually implementing the energy turnaround. Among other things this concerns grid expansion and the competitiveness improvement of renewable energies. We are on a good track with this and engage in a dialog with the federal states, the economy and the general public. Transparency and a broad societal acceptance is a major key for the success of the energy turnaround", said Pofalla at the Hauptstadtforum (Capital City Forum).

Businesses Reject the Renewable Energies Act (EEG)

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 09:23:18 GMT

The vast majority of German businesses reject the implementation of the energy turnaround in its current form. 70 percent do not think that the EEG levy, which finances the expansion of renewable energies, is the right instrument.

Competition Model Saves up to 52 billion euro

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 08:04:07 GMT

A competition-oriented financing model would make the expansion of renewable energies in the next eight years up to 52 billion euro cheaper. This is the result of a study by the Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institute for Economic Research (RWI) that was conducted for the Initiative for a New Social Market Economy.

Saxony Wins – Berlin No Longer at the Bottom of the Table

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 09:00:39 GMT

Saxony has the most capable education system of all 16 federal states. Such is the result of the Education Monitor 2012 (Bildungsmonitor 2012), a comparative study by the Institute for the German Economy Cologne (IW Köln) that was conducted on behalf of the INSM. The Education Monitor, now published for the ninth time, uses 110 indicators to assess how far a federal state improves its educational infrastructure, secures chances to participate and thus strengthens growth forces.

Ascent by Education

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 06:48:43 GMT

There are too many school dropouts in Germany and too few people have a finished education. With an equal socioeconomic background migrant children end up in Hauptschulen (secondary modern schools) more than twice as often as children without a migrant background. Individual support is the key for more equal opportunities. To expedite this discussion within educational policy the INSM has published a discussion paper in collaboration with the Berlin-Institute for Population and Development (Berlin-Institut für Bevölkerung und Entwicklung - BI).

The Renewable Energies Act Mainly Burdens Low Earners

Mon, 07 May 2012 11:56:34 GMT

The current funding of the energy turnaround in Germany is unsocial. Relatively speaking, the strain the so-called EEG law puts on low-income households is up to 10 times harder than for households with high incomes. This is the result of a study conducted by the Institute of the German Economy Cologne (IW) on behalf of the Initiative for a New Social Market Economy (INSM).

INSM Innovation Monitor 2012

Mon, 07 May 2012 11:44:10 GMT

Germany: A place of innovations. There are a lot of strong companies yet a few weaknesses among high-technology companies. The Euro crisis countries have to strengthen their efforts to innovate since China remains a high-flying challenger. This is one of the results of the most recent innovation monitor of the INSM.

Cornerstones of the Federal Budget 2013

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:05:25 GMT

Next year the federal government will be able to meet the requirements of the basic law’s debt brake for the first time which requires a structural deficit of below 0.35 percent of GDP. In 2014 Germany could be able to give new debts a pass for the first time since 1970 and begin repaying the debt mountain.

Six Points for a Stable Europe

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:55:23 GMT

The Fiscal Pact that was decided by heads of state and government will not lead Europe back to a new and robust monetary stability. Its capacities will not be sufficient to help the European Monetary Union regain its stability. For this the Fiscal Pact would lack the necessary regulations.

“The decisions are a breakthrough”

Johannes Eber — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:00:45 GMT

The Italian Mario Draghi uses his first appearance in Berlin as new president of the European Central Bank (ECB) to justify the latest monetary policies and does not forget to praise politicians. Furthermore, an essay competition in honor of the 80th birthday of Prof. Dr. Hans Tietmeyer, chairman of the board of trustees of the INSM, was created at the IX. Ludwig Erhard Lecture.

Germany Needs the Project Full Employment

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:08:53 GMT

Full employment is within reach – this was the consensus at a discussion organized by the Initiative for a New Social Market Economy (INSM) in Berlin. The route, however, remained controversial.

Paqué: “Minimum wages risk the accomplishments on the labor market”

Karl-Heinz Paqué — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:14:14 GMT

INSM-ambassador Karl-Heinz Paqué is dean of the faculty of economic sciences at the Otto-von-Guericke-University in Magdeburg. On INSM.de he explains why a comprehensive wage floor would jeopardize the accomplishments on the labor market that have been achieved in recent times.

Minimum Wages are Unsocial: CDU/CSU Plans Breach Market-Based Rules

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:18:35 GMT

The Initiative for a New Social Market Economy (INSM) has great concerns about the minimum wage plans of the CDU. “A statutory minimum wage now means to change course just when the great goal of full employment has come within sight”, says INSM chief executive Hubertus Pellengahr.

Brandenburg-Berlin is most dynamic, Bavaria has highest economic standard

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:35:43 GMT

The region of Brandenburg-Berlin has undergone a particularly good economic development in the time between 2007 and 2010. Baden-Württemberg was hit hard by the crisis and ranks at the bottom of the comparison of economic dynamics.