News Archive

The EU's new decision-makers will need smart adaptation strategies to navigate today's complex geoeconomic reality. Our EconPol summer newsletter features a policy brief by ifo's president Clemens Fuest addressing these challenges. It further includes a policy brief on the EU's development policy with African, Caribbean and Pacific States, as well as a policy brief on the future direction of the EU’s foreign economic policy. You will also find the new EconPol Forum discussing how Europe can build up its economic defense capabilities and challenges to its innovations policy. 

Europe is increasingly falling behind in growing high-tech industries, such as the digital economy or biotechnology. Contrary to their US and Chinese competitors, companies in the EU concentrate their innovation activities rather on established mid-tech sectors, which tend to have lower growth rates and generate less disruptive innovations. This paper proposes reforms of EU innovation policy to get Europe out of its “mid-tech trap”.  

If innovation is necessary to tackle the huge economic, political, and social challenges facing society, then entrepreneurship is needed to drive innovation. Entrepreneurship in Germany and in the US couldn't be more different. Both are successful in their own way and both face their own unique challenges in attaining the promise of innovation.