Test of the German resilience

Arbeitspapier

From its early post-war catch-up phase, Germany's formidable export engine has been its consistent driver of growth. But Germany has almost equally consistently run current account surpluses. Exports have powered the dynamic phases and helped emerge from stagnation. Volatile external demand, in turn, has elevated German GDP growth volatility by advanced countries' standards, keeping domestic consumption growth at surprisingly low levels. As a consequence, despite the size of its economy and important labor market reforms, Germany's ability to act as global locomotive has been limited. With increasing competition in its traditional areas of manufacturing, a more domestically-driven growth dynamic, especially in the production and delivery of services, will be good for Germany and for the global economy. Absent such an effort, German growth will remain constrained, and Germany will play only a modest role in spurring growth elsewhere.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CFS Working Paper ; No. 2012/14

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy: General (includes Measurement and Data) ; Studies of Particular Policy Episodes ; Economic History: Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations: Europe: 1913- ; Economywide Country Studies: Europe ; Comparative Studies of Particular Economies
• Subject: Economic Performance ; Economic Reforms ; Economic Recovery ; Current Account ; Productivity ; Labor Market ; Spillovers ; Germany ; Wirtschaftswachstum ; Konjunkturzusammenhang ; Deutschland

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Bornhorst, Fabian ; Mody, Ashoka
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Goethe University Frankfurt, Center for Financial Studies (CFS)
• (where): Frankfurt a. M.
• (when): 2012

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/71145
• URN: urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-268775
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET