[The Transatlantic Trade Conflict and the German Economy: It Matters how Long It Takes]. / Transatlantischer Handelskonflikt und die deutsche Wirtschaft: Auf die Dauer kommt es an.

International trade conflicts continue to simmer in times of the coronavirus crisis. Most recently, in mid-May, the US government tightened export restrictions for suppliers to the Chinese technology company Huawei. Against the background of the dramatic slump in consumer demand for automobiles, US President Donald Trump might revive his protectionist idea of tariffs on cars and car parts from the EU, escalating the transatlantic trade conflict. Economic policy simulations show that such an escalation has the potential to dampen the economic recovery in Germany after the pandemic shock. Fiscal rules limit the ability to counterbalance the macroeconomic impact of a trade war, putting Germany potentially at a relative disadvantage in this conflict.

[Quick Exit or Deliberate Loosening? On the Future of Contact Restrictions in the COVID-19Crisis]. / Schneller Ausstieg oder bedachte Lockerung?: Zur Zukunft von Kontaktbeschränkungen in der COVID-19-Krise.

How important is the relaxation of contact restrictions for the recovery of the German economy and what conclusions can be drawn for the appropriate level of contact restrictions in the coming months? In considering these issues, an attempt will be made to assess what significance the contact restriction measures introduced by the federal and state governments since mid-March 2020 will actually have for the current slump in economic activity in Germany. In addition, the various plausible scenarios for the spread and containment of infection are presented with different options for easing contact restrictions.

Why Current EU Proposals for Corona-Related Financial Aid Cannot Replace Coronabonds.

With public debt-to-GDP levels now set to surpass post-war records and Italy's ratio approaching levels reached in Greece on the eve of the country's debt restructuring in early 2012, fears of a return of the sovereign debt crisis have emerged.

Ten Years On, Two Crises Later: Evaluating EMU Institutional Reforms Since 2010

The article systematically reviews EMU governance reforms implemented, policy instruments introduced and further institutional reforms currently under discussion with a view of how far they have addressed the institutional shortcomings of the euro-area architecture, which have led to the euro crisis of 2010ff. It further explores how far these reforms have helped to prevent a replay of that crisis when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the euro area. To this end, the article first reviews the academic debate about the causes of the euro crisis that started with the Greek sovereign debt crisis in 2010. In a second step, it evaluates the reforms implemented since the onset of the euro crisis and during the COVID-19 crisis with regard in how far these reforms have addressed or could address the causes of the crisis and gives an outlook on potential forthcoming problems.

[Economic Implications of the Corona Crisis and Economic Policy Measures]. / Wirtschaftliche Implikationen der Corona-Krise und wirtschaftspolitische Maßnahmen.

The corona crisis started in China and had great consequences for public health and the economy. In the meantime, high and rapidly growing numbers of cases of infections with SARS-CoV-2 have also been recorded in Japan, Korea, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain and above all in the USA. Forecasts of economic growth have been massively revised downwards and governments around the world are struggling to find the right economic policy response. This article describes basic short-term options for the German government to react to the corona shock and briefl y assesses the package of measures "Schutzschirm für Beschäftigte und Unternehmen" presented on 13 March 2020 by the German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz and the German Economics Minister Peter Altmaier.