Coronavirus Pandemic
How does the coronavirus pandemic affect the Mittelstand in Germany? What economic policy support measures are appropriate? The IfM Bonn regularly publishes analyses and recommendations in this dossier.
Standpoint
Surprisingly few differences
24.08.2021 Restrictions on entrepreneurial activity in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, homeschooling, closed kindergartens and childcare centres: the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic hit the self-employed totally unexpectedly, and in such a way, they could hardly have prepared for – even though the equity ratio of most companies was significantly higher than, for example, at the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008/09 thanks to the good profit situation in previous years and they were thus better prepared.
The pandemic is something which in economics is known as an exogenous shock. It resulted in an extraordinary economic crisis. The mutability of the virus has proved to be particularly malicious, having caused and still causing additional uncertainty on the part of companies and politicians. To limit the consequences of the pandemic as far as possible, extensive contact restrictions have been imposed several times since spring 2020, individual sectors of the economy have been sent into weeks of (partial) lockdown, and schools, childcare and daycare facilities have been repeatedly closed for months at a time.
Figure of the months
In 2013, every
third
academic in German universities who had a start-up idea in 2013 also implemented it by 2020.
Policy Brief "Entrepreneurship in Focus"
Entrepreneurship and knowledge as drivers of regional development in East Germany
East German regions, which had a relatively high density of private enterprises and a high qualification level of the workforce at the end of the GDR era, coped relatively well within the abrupt transition to a market economy more than 30 years ago.
Cooperation with University of Siegen
Zukunftspanel Mittelstand
NUI region ranking
Offensive Mittelstand
Data of the IfM Bonn
