The effects of the 2022 minimum wage increase on wages, wage distribution and working hours.
A current study by the IAW in cooperation with RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research on behalf of the Minimum Wage Commission examines the effects of the minimum wage increase to 12 EUR in 2022 on wages, wage distribution and working hours. Using various methods, the study concludes that the substantial increase in the minimum wage significantly increased both hourly and monthly earnings and led to a reduction in wage inequality in the lower wage segment. The results also indicate that the exceptionally high minimum wage increase led to evasive reactions in the form of reductions in working hours and a decline in the overall volume of work in the economy. The study, together with reports from other economic research institutes, served as the basis for the Fifth Report on the effects of the statutory minimum wage by the Minimum Wage Commission.
For the 10th anniversary of the Bundesbank-IAW Lecture at the University of Tübingen, organized annually by the IAW in cooperation with the Bundesbank's Baden-Württemberg headquarters, a very special speaker was invited: Dr. Joachim Nagel, acting president of the Deutsche Bundesbank and thus head of the institution whose name the renowned lecture series bears. The lecture, held in English, took place in the almost full Audimax lecture hall at the University of Tübingen. In his speech, Dr. Nagel provided a detailed overview of the European Central Bank's monetary policy strategy since 2021 and answered numerous questions from the audience.
The economy in Baden-Württemberg could return to moderate growth despite high geopolitical risks. For the second quarter, the latest nowcast from the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IAW) and from the University of Hohenheim predicts real growth in gross domestic product (GDP) of 0.5%. Positive growth of a similar magnitude is also forecast for the two subsequent quarters.
A recent IAW study commissioned by the Gesamtverband der Personaldienstleister e.V. (GVP) examines wage differences between employees in and outside of temporary work based on the 2023 earnings structure survey. This initially shows unadjusted wage gaps at the expense of temporary work - both in monthly earnings and in hourly pay. However, if a comparison is made between similar employees in and outside temporary employment, the difference in monthly wages is significantly smaller. In the case of hourly wages, there is no longer a wage gap when taking into account the different characteristics of employees in and outside temporary employment if the statistical twin method (matching) is used. When regression models are used, there is even an inverse wage gap in payment per hour in favor of temporary work.
The Deutsche Bundesbank, Head Office Stuttgart, and the Institute for Applied Economic Research e.V. (IAW) cordially invite you to the 10th Bundesbank-IAW Lecture at the University of Tübingen on Wednesday, July 9, 2025 at 2:15 p.m. in the New Auditorium (Neue Aula) of the University.
.
Target achieved, but challenges still remain – monetary policy since the 2021 strategy review.
Dr. Joachim Nagel, President of the Deutsche Bundesbank.
The USA's “reciprocal” tariffs: a look behind the tariff formula
Just under 100 days into US President Donald Trump's second term in office, the impact of his decisions on the global economy is becoming increasingly clear. These include the imposition of tariffs on US imports from other countries. In his latest article for IAW Impulse, IAW Research Fellow Prof. Dr. Benjamin Jung examines the extent to which this measure comes close to the declared goal of reducing the United States' trade deficits with other countries (in German).
June 27, 2025: II IAW Workshop Growth. Prosperity. Democracy - Deciding and acting in the face of increasing uncertainty
The IAW workshop takes place in Stuttgart and is dedicated to the following questions: - State of scientific knowledge on growth, income and wealth distribution, nature consumption and democracy. Are there gaps in research and knowledge? - How can an informed public discourse with rational decisions for action emerge from scientific findings? - How does this discourse fit into practical processes of the emergence of communicative power and its institutional implementation in administrative power? What roles do actors as diverse as scientists, NGOs, political parties and the media play in this process? - What are the factors that turn knowledge of and about problems into a trigger for rapid countermeasures, even if these involve serious impositions for the citizens affected? - Why are insights into the need for self-restraint reinterpreted as restrictions on freedom that inhibit action? How can a revision succeed?
.