Search

Technological progress is a major prerequisite for economic growth and increases in per-capita incomes. The importance of knowledge flows from abroad is constantly growing in the course of globalization. Particularly in developing countries, imports of high-technology goods, requiring a high level of knowledge, contribute to increased productivity levels. The internationalization of research and development in multinational companies has given rise to a new transfer channel for knowledge. The associated cross-border knowledge flows have so far been concentrated among industrialized countries where they contribute to productivity increases to the same degree as imports of high-technology goods. Therefore, the removal of barriers to trade and to research activities of foreign companies remains an important task for growth-oriented economic policy. Der technologische Fortschritt ist eine wichtige Voraussetzung für wirtschaftliches Wachstum und die Erhöhung der Einkommen. Im Zug der Globalisierung wächst dabei die Bedeutung der Wissenszuflüsse aus dem Ausland. Importe von Hochtechnologiegütern, die viel Wissen verkörpern, tragen besonders in den Entwicklungsländern zur Produktivitätsentwicklung bei. Durch die Internationalisierung von Forschung und Entwicklung in multinationalen Unternehmen ist zudem ein neuer Transferkanal für Wissen entstanden. Die damit einhergehenden grenzüberschreitenden Wissensflüsse konzentrieren sich bislang auf die Industrieländer. Dort tragen sie in gleichem Maß zur Produktivitätssteigerung bei wie die Importe von Hochtechnologiegütern. Die Beseitigung von Barrieren für den Handel und für die Ansiedlung von Forschungsaktivitäten ausländischer Unternehmen bleibt deshalb eine wichtige Aufgabe einer wachstumsorientierten Wirtschaftspolitik.

The German economy recovered more rapidly than the majority of other developed countries from the severe slump that the global economic and financial crisis brought in its wake. Weak demand in the euro area was offset by robust growth in exports to countries outside the region. The German economy's strong competitive position on global markets, particularly on the dynamic emerging and developing markets, played a vital role here. In contrast, over the last decade, the euro area's crisis countries in particular have experienced a decline in their competitiveness on international markets. Due to their dependence on the single European market and failure to focus on innovative products in demand on global markets, they are among the losers in the global competition for foreign direct investment. The reforms that have been introduced will not be able to generate an immediate trend reversal. Even Germany will struggle to maintain its favorable market position as global structural change and competition to attract business to the region are likely to increase in intensity.

Griechenland hat lange Zeit über seine Verhältnisse gelebt und sich im Ausland verschuldet. Die hohe Staatsschuld ist nur ein Ausdruck der Probleme, die eigentliche Ursache ist die unzureichende Wirtschaftskraft. Die vorrangige politische Aufgabe besteht darin, die wirtschaftliche Substanz - insbesondere die Exportbasis - so weit zu stärken, dass künftig die Leistungsbilanz mindestens ausgeglichen wird. Dazu braucht Griechenland eine Wachstumsstrategie, vor allem eine nachholende Industrialisierung. Bisher sorgt vor allem der Tourismus für Einnahmen im Wirtschaftsaustausch mit dem Ausland. Diese Säule ist aber längst nicht hinreichend; zwar gibt es Wachstumschancen im Fremdenverkehr im Süden Europas, sie sollten aber nicht überschätzt werden. Die industrielle Basis Griechenlands ist hingegen nur klein und deshalb in starkem Maße auf den Binnenmarkt ausgerichtet. Deren Produktionsstruktur und die Außenhandelsverflechtung bei Waren zeigen, dass die griechische Wirtschaft kaum in Konkurrenz zu der entwickelter Industriestaaten steht. Entsprechend hat, wie mitunter behauptet wird, die schwache Lohnentwicklung in Deutschland die griechische Wirtschaft auch nicht nennenswert unter Druck setzen können. Das verarbeitende Gewerbe sowie weite Teile der Wirtschaft sind in einem sehr starken Maße durch kleingewerbliche Produktionen geprägt. Insgesamt kommt in Griechenland bereits auf zwei Arbeitnehmer ein Selbständiger; die Beschäftigungsstruktur entspricht der eines Transformationslandes.

Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa-the BRICS-show high overall economic growth rates by international standards. Even during the recent economic crisis, most BRICS countries still recorded above-average growth. This development has benefited German foreign trade in particular. This applies especially to automotive and mechanical engineering. However, this geographical reorientation of German export trade in favor of the BRICS countries could soon reach its limits. The institutional and infrastructural conditions of the BRICS are increasingly proving to be bottlenecks for their economic catch-up processes. With the exception of Russia, rapid economic growth in these countries already slowed down in 2011. Further development will depend on the extent to which the governments of the BRICS countries are able to remove the obstacles to growth that have been identified.

Opening the electricity market to renewable energy sources would create flexibility for the further integration of renewable energy, leading to considerably lower costs and emissions. This requires the electricity markets to be reorganized in three ways. Firstly, most trading, and therefore production decision-making, is completed at least one day prior to electricity production. But it must be possible to make adjustments on shorter timescales, in order to effectively utilize wind forecasts, which are only relatively accurate a few hours ahead of production. Secondly, demand for operating reserve to stabilize the grid varies with the uncertainty of forecasts for wind and other generation. Most power plants can offer operating reserve, but only together with electricity. At present, however, operating reserve is traded separately from electricity, often in long-term contracts. And thirdly, network operators generally compensate market participants for grid constraints. But with around 200 GWs of new wind and solar capacity being built by 2020, grid expansion must be combined with transparent, market-based congestion management. The introduction of an independent system operator offering an integrated platform for short-term power trading using a pricing system that internalises network constraints ("nodal pricing") could meet these conditions, allowing further openings of the power market for renewable electrical energy. Experience in the US and simulations for Europe show that international transmission capacity is up to 30% better utilized, congestion management alone yielding annual savings of 1 - 2 billion euros.

Nearly 60 percent of globally traded industrial goods are R&D-intensive. Two fifths are goods with very high research intensity (cutting-edge technology), while the remaining three fifths are goods with high research intensity (high-level technology).1 Up until the 1990s, the USA was the global market leader. However, since then, the situation has changed in favor of Germany and remained so despite the recent economic crisis.2 In 2009, Germany exported R&D-intensive goods amounting to USD 670 billion. The two main competitors, the USA and Japan, exported goods worth USD 561 and 388 billion respectively. The new Central and Eastern European EU member states, which increasingly focus on the production of R&D-intensive goods, reached a value of USD 189 billion altogether. The situation on the import side is reversed: Here the US market dominates with imports worth USD 756 billion, while Germany comes second with USD 430 Billion.

In der deutschen Volkswirtschaft ist nicht nur der internationale Handel mit Waren, sondern auch der mit Dienstleistungen kräftig gestiegen. Deutschland ist der weltweit drittgrößte Exporteur von Dienstleistungen. Über das Exportverhalten von Dienstleistungsunternehmen, insbesondere kleiner und mittlerer Unternehmen (KMU), ist jedoch wenig bekannt. Die Exporte der KMU in wissensintensiven Dienstleistungsbranchen sind in den Jahren 2003 bis 2007 überdurchschnittlich gewachsen. Allerdings ist die Exportquote dieser Unternehmen immer noch geringer als die der großen Unternehmen. Der Anteil der exportierenden Unternehmen hat sowohl bei den KMU als auch bei den großen Unternehmen zugenommen. Besonders ausgeprägt war der Anstieg jedoch bei den mittelgroßen Unternehmen. Eine Längsschnittbetrachtung für den Zeitraum von 2003 bis 2007 zeigt, dass es relativ wenige Kleinunternehmen gibt, die ständig, also in allen genannten Jahren, exportieren. Unter den mittelgroßen Unternehmen gibt es - anders als bei den sehr kleinen - besonders viele, die in diesen Jahren erstmals mit dem Export begonnen haben. Die Bedeutung der erstmals Exportierenden übersteigt die Bedeutung derjenigen, die ihre Lieferungen ins Ausland eingestellt haben.

Germany is the world's biggest gross and net exporter of research-intensive goods, even ahead of the US and Japan. Per capita Germany also has the largest export surplus for research-intensive goods with around USD 3,900. Furthermore, Germany increasingly benefits as an importer - and thus as a user of technologies - from the international division of work. However, Germany's comparative advantages for research-intensive goods have declined in comparison to the middle of the 1990s. This is not due to a change in export specializations but rather to the tremendous increase in imports; this is reflected above all in the medium and low price segments where emerging markets have been catching up in research-intensive goods. After the financial market crisis had its impact on the real economy, it is now even more important to strengthen the innovative capabilities of German companies. The most important prerequisite of ensuring this is being equipped with R&D and human capital.

In the course of increasing internationalisation of the German economy, growth in export can also be expected for the German service sector. However, there has only been limited information about the export behaviour of German service companies so far. This gap can be closed to some extent by statistics existing since 2000. This study confirms that export orientation increased between 2000 and 2005. The proportion of exporting companies has augmented as well as the share of exports in turnover. There are differences according to industrial sectors. Small companies are generally less export-oriented than larger ones. The export potential is assessed as being favourable. One reason is that modern communication technologies ease the international exchange of information. The other reason is that in the international market-both in the European Union and in other countries-demand for services will also grow with investment by German companies abroad.