Search

Begin New Search Topic Business Political Geography Europe

1. Raising the Bar: Supermarkets must urgently address structural exploitation of cocoa farmers

Author:
Jesse Arnon and Anouk Franck
Publication Date:
04-2025
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Most cocoa farmers in main cocoa producing countries Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana are poor, even though they are at the heart of the supply chain for a luxury good: chocolate. For decades they have been receiving low farm gate prices, which don’t allow them to earn a living income for their families. At the same time, companies in the cocoa and chocolate supply chains have been making huge profits. Supermarkets in the Netherlands and Germany have taken first steps by making long-term commitments to ensuring cocoa farmers are paid a living income reference price, but the share of honest chocolate they have on offer only reaches 5%. It’s time that they radically change the way they do business, by committing to long-term fair prices for farmers, sharing the risk with cocoa farmers and being accountable for all the chocolate products they sell. This paper focuses on supermarkets, which are powerful actors in the cocoa and chocolate supply chain. As primary retailers, supermarkets have a direct link with consumers and have power across the supply chain so they can drive real change. Dutch and German supermarkets have made living income commitments, and they have started implementing them.
Topic:
Human Rights, Business, Cocoa, Farming, Living Income, and Supermarkets
Political Geography:
Europe, Germany, Netherlands, and Global Focus

2. The Role of the Consumer and Systemic Policy Mixes for Circular Business Models in the EU

Author:
Hanna Fuhrmann-Riebel
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:
Recent decades have shown an unprecedented growth in demand for resources, with a trend that is projected to accelerate in the future. Policymakers around the world have started to recognise that transitioning to a more resource-efficient and circular economy (CE) is key to addressing this challenge. Two important enablers for the transition to a CE are circular business models (CBMs) and consumers. The two are interlinked, as demand shifts among consumers can foster the development and supply of new business models, which in turn require the uptake by consumers to be successful. To promote the development and increase the uptake of new CBMs, policymakers need to provide the respective regulatory frameworks and incentives. Doing so requires systemic policy mixes that go beyond encouraging technological innovations and include targeting the demand side as well. This paper zooms in on the role of the consumer for CBMs, discusses potential consumer barriers to CBM demand, and outlines how policy-making can address these barriers by applying systemic mixes of instruments to tackle the macro-, meso-, and micro-level factors that influence consumer demand simultaneously. While the macro-level describes the economic context of consumers’ decision-making, that is, the availability and supply, infrastructure and price of CBMs in the market, the meso-level characterises the social environment, including social norms and social status, whereas the micro-level focuses on individual characteristics such as consumption habits, security and quality concerns, and environmental knowledge or concern. This paper illustrates how the different consumer barriers are closely interlinked, and that, ideally, policymakers should target all three levels jointly to encourage CBM demand most effectively. In doing so, policymakers should consider the principles of the waste hierarchy in order to maximise the environmental benefits of CE policy mixes. The paper mostly takes a European perspective on the topic, especially when discussing relevant policy frameworks, and reflects on potential differences to other regions, particularly in the Global South, when appropriate
Topic:
Development, European Union, Business, and Economic Growth
Political Geography:
Europe

3. Foul Play? On the Scale and Scope of Industrial Subsidies in China

Author:
Frank Bickenbach, Dirk Dohse, Rolf Langhammer, and Wan-Hsin Liu
Publication Date:
04-2024
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
Abstract:
China makes extensive use of subsidies in order to take a leading role on the global markets in the green technology sectors of electric vehicles, wind turbines and railway rolling stock. According to DiPippo et al. (2022) and recent OECD studies, the industrial subsidies in China are at least three to four times or even up to nine times higher than in the major EU and OECD countries. According to a very conservative estimate, industrial subsidies in China amounted to around EUR 221 billion or 1.73% of Chinese GDP in 2019. According to recent data of 2022, direct government subsidies for some of the dominant Chinese manufacturers of green technology products had also increased significantly - the electric car manufacturer BYD alone received EUR 2.1 billion. The authors point out that Chinese companies are benefiting from further support measures, including subsidized inputs, preferential access to critical raw materials, forced technology transfers, the strategic use of public procurement and the preferential treatment of domestic firms in administrative procedures. The authors recommend the EU to use its anti-subsidy proceeding against BEV imports from China to enter into negotiations with the Chinese government and persuade it to abolish public support measures that are particularly harmful to the EU.
Topic:
Globalization, International Trade and Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, European Union, Business, Renewable Energy, Industry, Subsidies, and Electric Vehicles
Political Geography:
China and Europe

4. Hitler and the German Coal Industrialists: Passing the Keys to A Kingdom

Author:
Karsten Heinz Schönbach
Publication Date:
11-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)
Abstract:
Ever since the publication of Henry Turner’s German Big Business and the Rise of Hitler, most historians in both Germany and the United States have dismissed the idea that support from German major industry played a key role in bringing Hitler to power. This consensus is wrong, as I have shown in a series of works that began with my doctoral dissertation at the Free University of Berlin and now extends to more than ten different works, including two books. These works rely extensively on archival resources that were either inaccessible or only selectively open to earlier researchers. This paper analyzes in detail one of the most crucial episodes in Hitler’s rise to power – one that previous historians, particularly Turner, have profoundly misjudged thanks in part at least to the shortcomings in the documentary sources available to them. This is the history of the political relations between Hitler, the NSDAP leadership, and the German “coal industrialists” in the period from 1926 to 1933 and the key role these firms played in supporting and financing the eventual Nazi triumph.
Topic:
History, Business, Coal, Industry, and Adolf Hitler
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

5. Businesses, EU Strengthening International Supply Chains

Author:
Piotr Dzierżanowski
Publication Date:
04-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Polish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Over the past three years, global supply chains have experienced problems on an unprecedented scale. Given the rising political tensions and changes in the perception of the role of the economy in international rivalries, a return to international economic relations based on globalisation and trade liberalisation is highly unlikely. Instead, we will witness a necessary strengthening of supply chains, both at the individual business and national levels. For Western economies, the main challenge will be the reduction of related costs.
Topic:
Globalization, European Union, Economy, Business, and Supply Chains
Political Geography:
Europe and Global Focus

6. China and the new globalization

Author:
Franklin D. Kramer
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
The unitary globalized economy no longer exists. Driven in significant part by security considerations, a new and more diverse globalization is both required and being built. The transition is ongoing, and its final form is yet to be determined. Many of the causal factors for this very significant change revolve around China and the consequent responses to its actions by the United States, other democracies of the transatlantic alliance, and the advanced democratic economies of the Indo-Pacific. There are other important factors generating this new globalization including the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war both on energy markets and on trade and investment with Russia generally, as well as the global requirements for mitigating and adapting to climate change. However, China has been a critical element in what might be described as the “maximum trade-centered globalization,” which has dominated trade and investment policy in the three decades since the end of the Cold War. This issue brief describes the still-developing new globalization focusing on the issues surrounding China. A fundamental challenge that China presents arises because its actions have generated significant security and economic challenges, yet it nonetheless is a massive trade and investment partner for the “advanced democratic economies” (ADEs),1 which for purposes of this analysis include the Group of Seven (G7) countries,2 plus Australia, Norway, the Republic of Korea, and the European Union. Adapting to a new globalization requires establishing a strategic approach that resolves the inherent contradictions between those conflicting considerations.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Diplomacy, Environment, Politics, Science and Technology, Economy, Business, and Energy
Political Geography:
China, Europe, Eurasia, Canada, Asia, United States of America, and Indo-Pacific

7. Striking evidence: The impact of railway strikes on competition from intercity bus services in Germany

Author:
Matthias Beestermöller, Levke Jessen-Thiesen, and Alexander Sandkamp
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
Abstract:
This paper investigates the impact of the largest rail strikes in German history on intercity buses – a then newly liberalised market. Using unique booking data of bus services, we exploit variation in rail service cancellations across routes to show that the disruption in rail transport increases bus ticket sales. Crucially, the effect persists beyond the strike, indicating that travellers do not return to their originally preferred mode of transport. It is particularly pronounced for passengers travelling on weekends. The findings suggest that customers were previously under-experimenting. Beyond transportation, our results highlight the importance of service reliability, as temporary disruptions can cause customers to permanently switch to competitors.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Business, Transportation, and Labor Strike
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

8. Resetting the EU’s business model after the watershed

Author:
Marco Buti and Marcello Messori
Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Policy Centre (EPC)
Abstract:
The EU’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic raised hopes of an acceleration towards deeper economic and political integration. Most optimists saw Next Generation EU as a paradigm shift that would result in the establishment of a permanent central fiscal capacity. Such hopes were reinforced by the Russian aggression against Ukraine; if not now, when? While the EU displayed remarkable unity in sanctioning Russia, the hopes for another leap forward in integration have not yet materialised. This Discussion Paper argues that the current crisis is more existential than the pandemic, as it questions Europe’s business model: an energy-intensive, mercantilist production setup is not sustainable going forward, for domestic and global reasons. It also argues that the EU’s reaction to the US Inflation Reduction Act may be a break: preserving the single market prohibits a go-it-alone policy constituted of exclusively national reactions. Going forward, the authors believe there needs to be an effective centralised strategy based on three overarching considerations: (i) The EU needs a new industrial policy to reinforce value chains, close technology gaps with the US and China, and improve its economic model's competitive advantages; (ii) The implementation of this policy requires the EU's member states to be less risk averse and more open to common solutions; (iii) A necessary, though not sufficient, condition for a cooperative game is an effective implementation of the national Recovery and Resilience Plans that give access to the Recovery and Resilience Facility’s funds. Achieving those goals is key to rebuilding political trust, reviving the ‘Next Generation EU spirit’, and mitigating the impact of the war in Ukraine on the European economy.
Topic:
Industrial Policy, European Union, Business, Regional Integration, and Value Chains
Political Geography:
Europe

9. Getting back on track: Unlocking Kosovo’s Euro-Atlantic and development perspective

Author:
Agon Maliqi
Publication Date:
12-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
February 17, 2023, marked fifteen years since the Republic of Kosovo declared its independence, supported by many of its Western partners. Since then, the Balkan country has made a lot of strides and hit many roadblocks in its popularly supported path toward joining Euro-Atlantic structures like NATO and the European Union (EU), as well as in its pursuit of development objectives. Since February 2008, the security and political environment surrounding Kosovo has also changed in decisive ways, and mostly in a negative direction. The new global security environment shaped by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the rise of China has redefined and reshaped the parameters within which Kosovo attempts to achieve its strategic external and domestic goals, including the threat of renewed violent conflict. This paper attempts to take stock of the current state of play on both the domestic and external fronts, and to offer a few guiding principles to observers and decision-makers in Kosovo, as well as to its friends and supporters in the international arena, on how to move forward. In the new global security environment, smaller regions like the Western Balkans tend to become afterthoughts for Western observers and decision-makers, and individual countries of these smaller regions even more so. This is reflected in the EU’s enlargement fatigue, which has largely been responsible for the region’s stalled accession process over the past decade. Yet the Western Balkans are precisely the type of region in which tectonic geopolitical shifts have the greatest impact, and where their currents hit the hardest. As such, developments in Kosovo and the Western Balkans represent a broader vulnerability to European security as well as a microcosm of what a world shaped by global power competition looks like. This paper portrays how things look in one of the global battlegrounds—a small but important one for European security. The paper aims to achieve three main objectives. First, it aims to summarize the key challenges Kosovo faces as it tries to consolidate its external position and get to a new development level. It is written with a bird’s-eye view and, as such, it may omit a lot of important issues while zooming in with granular detail on a few others that are central to the topic. Second, the paper is written with the dual aim of both informing and updating foreign audiences who have a less detailed understanding of the region and Kosovo, while also being sufficiently thorough and informative for seasoned observers and decision-makers in Kosovo and in the Balkans. As such, the paper strives to achieve the balance of restating many basic facts while also hoping that others may be self-evident. Finally, the paper seeks to be forward-looking, and not to get bogged down in the abyss of immediate developments. The tensions and violent episodes witnessed during the past two years in Kosovo’s north make it particularly challenging to engage in an analytical exercise that looks at Kosovo’s medium- and long-term situation beyond day-to-day relations with Serbia. Yet, these developments illustrate the urgency and unsustainability of the status quo in the affairs between the two countries, which the paper deals with at length. The paper is structured in three main sections and makes ten (numbered) central arguments, which are then elaborated in more detail. The first section, titled The Story So Far (points one to three), offers a brief overview of the political and economic context of how things have played out since independence. It tells the story of how Kosovo managed to demonstrate resilience to a wide range of political and economic challenges, and how it also has hit major roadblocks in the pursuit of its Euro-Atlantic and development agenda. The second section, Forward View 1 (points four to seven, outlines a forward view of how Kosovo can consolidate its statehood and security over the next decade. It looks at the state of play and offers a blueprint for how Kosovo, with the help of its international partners, can get closer to being recognized and able to join multilateral organizations in the new geopolitical environment shaped by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The third section (points eight to ten) is a forward view of Kosovo’s development challenges and perspectives. It outlines some of the key elements that need to be in place for Kosovo’s economy to accelerate to a new level of sophistication, and for its institutions to deliver effectively.
Topic:
Security, Development, Diplomacy, Economy, and Business
Political Geography:
Europe, Kosovo, and Balkans

10. German Economy in Winter 2023: Public budget under stress – Recovery faces headwinds

Author:
Jens Boysen-Hogrefe, Dominik Groll, Timo Hoffmann, Nils Jannsen, Stefan Kooths, Nils Sonnenberg, and Vincent Stamer
Publication Date:
12-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
Abstract:
The German economy is struggling to emerge from stagnation. GDP is likely to increase again in 2024, but the economic momentum will remain low. The strong growth in real disposable income will boost private consumption. However, the increases in interest rates continue to weigh on construction investment and there are no signs of large impulses from the world economy ahead. Moreover, the fiscal consolidation because of the Federal Constitutional Court's judgement on the supplementary budget for 2021 will slow economic expansion. There is uncertainty regarding the exact structuring of the reductions in expenditure as well as their economic impact. In the forecast, the additional savings will reduce growth in GDP by around 0.3 percentage points in 2024. Overall, we now expect GDP to increase by 0.9 percent in the coming year and thus at a slower pace than in our autumn forecast (1.3 percent). In 2025, economic output is likely to increase by 1.2 percent (autumn forecast: 1.5 percent). The decline in the current year of 0.3 percent will be slightly lower than expected in the autumn (-0.5 percent). Inflation has fallen significantly. For the next two years, we expect rates of 2.3 percent (2024) and 1.8 percent (2025), after 5.9 percent in the current year. The low economic momentum is leaving its mark on the labour market. However, demographic change and the associated shortage of skilled labour are counteracting this. The government's financing deficit is expected to fall from 2.5 percent relative to GDP in 2022 to 0.7 percent in 2025. The debt level will fall from 66.1 percent to 62.4 percent in the same period.
Topic:
Monetary Policy, GDP, Economy, Business, Energy Crisis, and Emerging Economies
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany