Georg Koopmann

Standort Deutschland im internationalen Verbund

Die internationale Produktionsverflechtung der Wirtschaft hat sich in den letzten Jahren deutlich beschleunigt. Die industrielle Auslandsproduktion deutscher Unternehmen und die Produktion ausländischer Unternehmen im Inland haben zusammengenommen die Größenordnung des Außenhandels erreicht. Die internationale Expansion der Unternehmen bringt Standortentscheidungen mit sich. Diese hängen von den strategischen Einschätzungen, Zielen und Optionen der Investoren und von den Bedingungen an potenziellen Standorten ab. Kenntnis der Determinanten dieser Entscheidungen ist Voraussetzung für die Effizienz nationaler Standortpolitik. Vor diesem Hintergrund befasst sich eine Untersuchung des HWWA mit den Internationalisierungsstrategien multinationaler Unternehmen und deren Implikationen für den Standort Deutschland und die deutsche Standortpolitik. Die Arbeit konzentriert sich auf die Verflechtung mit den westeuropäischen Ländern.

National and international developments in technology: trends, patterns and implications for policy

Declining R&D intensities at the national level coincide with growing international technological links. In this context a number of questions arise: Do companies research in the same field of technology abroad as they do at home? Are the fields of technology in which R&D is concentrated within a country those in which it has a comparative advantage? What drives the process of the internationalisation of technology? What are the implications for host countries and home countries? What are the implications for policy on a national and an international level?

Regionalisation and regionalism in world trade

The growing importance of regional integration, particularly in the Triad of Western Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region, is not always regarded as positive, but is also criticized because of the dangers involved for free world trade. What effects on world trade are to be expected? Can the new world trade order limit the possible risks?

Between Two Poles: Matching Trade and Exchange Rate Regimes in Mercosur

The paper reviews exchange rate options for Mercosur countries. We start from the observation that most of the countries in the region have a longstanding tendency to adopt fixed exchange rates, and ask how such a system could best be designed. The Argentine crisis has demonstrated that unilateral currency pegs imply the risk of serious misalignments with other trading partners and subsequent realignments. The standard basket peg is not a solution because of its limited transparency and credibility. We therefore discuss a proposal to create dual currency boards that could be a workable solution for the Mercosur countries.

EC trade policy beyond 1992

The initiative to set up the single European market has aroused fears abroad, and indeed even within Europe itself, that the intention is to turn the Community into a “Fortress Europe”. Attempts to allay these fears by the Council of Ministers, the EC Commission or individuals representing them have achieved little success, and on occasion have actually tended to be counter-productive. Is “Fortress Europe” an illusion or a real danger?

Trends in the international competitiveness of industrial countries

It has become fashionable in recent times to describe the state of the Western European economies with the word “eurosclerosis”. Is the international competitiveness of these economies really as ailing as this world implies? The following article attempts to answer this question using various methods of measuring international competitiveness.

National protectionism and common trade policy

The EC recently created a new instrument of trade policy to deter illicit trade practices. A major part of its purpose is to strengthen the Community’s authority in the area of trade policy and counter the spread of international protectionism within the Community. The following article demonstrates, among other things, that protectionism in the Community cannot offer a workable alternative to this course.

Doha Development Round Perspectives

The Doha round got back on track in the summer of 2004. Where does it stand today? Has market access policy gained predominance over market regulation policy? Is the promotion of economic and social development becoming the “mainstream” of negotiations? What role does trade facilitation in developing countries play in this context? Is multilateral liberalisation compatible with the regional and bilateral opening of markets? Is further institutional reform of the WTO beyond the Doha agenda necessary? If so, what form could this take?

Transatlantic irritations in competition and trade policy

Transatlantic economic relations seemingly are in a state of disarray, or ambivalence, which is most apparent in the fields of competition and trade policy. It is not alone bilateral issues that are contentious between the European Union and the United States but also the attitude of both sides towards third countries, as well as each other’s ideas of the (future) shape of the international trading system as a whole. Moreover, the EU-US case again demonstrates how the boundaries between policy areas that were formerly classified to be either of a national or of an international nature are blurring.

North Atlantic trade and investment links: For internal and external openness

Proposals for transatlantic integration of any kind arouse strong interest because of the economic power of the potential partner countries. The following article attempts to assess the impact of a “free trade and investment area” and examines the costs and benefits involved.