German rent cap: Probably only under a green-red-red federal government (which seems unlikely) – but even then, water would still not flow uphill

Lending trends in Europe and the US are currently diverging. Indicators point to a further slowdown in the euro area, even though a credit crunch has so far not materialised. In the US, by contrast, the outlook has considerably improved in recent quarters and loan volumes are growing again. [more]

Migration can be an effective way of reducing geographical imbalances on the labour markets. Together with politicians and the larger society, companies have a key role to play in integrating migrant workers. It is also in the interest of companies to make good use of the international pool of qualified labor. With 20% of the population being either immigrants themselves (10%) or second-generation immigrants (another 10% according to the EU Commission) – both in Germany and France – the costs of not fully integrating this potential are high, both for business and society. [more]

Two years after the end of the financial crisis, Western banks have returned to solid profitability. Prospects for further improvement, however, are less favourable because of rising interest rates and sluggish economic growth. [more]

State-led economic development, if successfully implemented, is appropriate during the early “catch up” phase of economic growth. However, as growth becomes more dependent on indigenous innovation and hence a dynamic private sector, a shift to more market-led rather than state-directed development becomes necessary. This also applies to the banking sector. Subject to proper regulation, banking systems that rely on private-sector banks and market-led credit allocation will eventually tend to generate superior economic outcomes. That said, we are unlikely to see a significant reduction in public-sector bank ownership in the BRIC countries anytime soon, nor, for that matter, a tangible increase in foreign ownership. [more]

The reasons for the current problems of some euro-area sovereigns on the capital markets differ from country to country. In the case of Greece, it was mainly a persistently unsound fiscal policy that led to a loss of confidence among investors, while in Ireland this was primarily due to a credit bubble which had inflated the size of the financial sector. [more]

Well aware that small farmers are key to world food security, agribusiness players are increasingly partnering with them. They are taking practical steps to secure farmers’ financial success in a sustainable way and integrate them into the global food supply chains... [more]

While gender gaps in the workplace continue to receive (much needed) attention, the situation in unpaid household work is rarely talked about. Recent data confirm that German women still do the lion’s share of family work, even when they have a job... [more]

Although the female employment rate is increasing, the gender gap in hours worked widened between 2001 and 2006 (Mikrozensus Sonderauswertung IAQ). Should we, as progressive people, rejoice at the former or start crying about the latter? A closer look at the data shows that the two developments are, in fact, related... [more]

The new figures are out. German women still earned 24% less per hour than men in 2006. This unadjusted gender wage gap is a useful indicator and underlines the need for action – especially since it has not decreased significantly in recent years, in spite of women’s increasing education levels. However, this overall indicator has the limitations of all aggregated averages, in that it mixes aspects of a different nature. In particular, it is important to distinguish between potential discrimination (arising in the absence of equal pay for equal work) and “choices”, like career patterns, for instance. At the same time, the latter are only partly driven by preferences – which makes things even more complex. We see four major aspects of the gender wage gap, three pertaining to women at large, and one specific to mothers (and a few rare fathers)... [more]

European banks have become considerably more international over the past few years, in terms of both the structure of their revenues and of their shareholders. In this context particular emphasis has been placed on strengthening the European business outside the home market, with the home market share in total revenues falling as a result – at the 20 largest European banks e.g. by 4 percentage points since 2001 to less than half. By contrast, as much as one-quarter of total revenues came from the rest of Europe in 2007 (2001: 18%). [more]