https://hdl.handle.net/10419/281419 2026-11-06T14:33:15Z 2026-11-06T14:33:15Z Wedl, Isabella Fricke, Thomas https://hdl.handle.net/10419/318508 2025-06-03T01:49:02Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: A positive approach to climate policy: What are preliminary lessons learnt from the US Inflation Reduction Act? Authors: Wedl, Isabella; Fricke, Thomas Abstract: For decades, climate economists and policymakers have favored market-driven solutions with minimal government intervention, advocating carbon pricing as the primary climate policy instrument. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), enacted in 2022, represents a fundamental departure from this approach, emphasizing positive incentives through subsidies and substantial public investment in infrastructure. This paper examines the limitations of carbon pricing in advancing the transition to a low-carbon economy and contrasts these with the investment-driven approach embodied by the IRA. In particular, it seeks to stimulate discussion on the extent to which this model could inform European climate policy. To this end, we provide an overview of the IRA's key provisions and assess its early impact on private cleantech investment, drawing on data from the Clean Investment Monitor. This is followed by a summary of projected effects on emission reductions and macroeconomic developments in the United States. To contextualize these findings, we outline the EU's current strategies for supporting cleantech industries and its policy response to the IRA. Against this backdrop, and informed by expert discussions, we highlight key lessons from the IRA and identify open questions relevant to European policymakers. We conclude that the IRA has significantly boosted cleantech investments in its initial years, and projections on both its potential for emissions reduction and its macroeconomic impacts are promising. It will, however, be important to monitor its long-term effectiveness and costefficiency to confirm the sustainability of these positive impacts.

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Likaj, Xhulia Fricke, Thomas https://hdl.handle.net/10419/281438 2024-01-27T02:22:01Z 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Gefühlt oder real - Wie ungleich sind Vermögen in Deutschland verteilt? Eine Bestandsaufnahme auf der Basis neuer Erkenntnisse Authors: Likaj, Xhulia; Fricke, Thomas Abstract: Driften die Vermögen in Deutschland auseinander? Und hat das Gefälle Ausmaße erreicht, die wirtschaftlich wie gesellschaftlich problematisch sind? Diese Fragen lösen in Deutschland seit Jahren emotional geführte Streits aus. Dabei schien es lange Zeit selbst unter Wissenschaftlern und Wissenschaftlerinnen keinen Konsens darüber zu geben, wie ungleich die Verhältnisse sind - und ob dies als Problem zu werten ist. Dass die Aussagen teils stark konträr ausfielen, lag dabei auch daran, dass es in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten keine amtliche Statistik dazu gab. In den vergangenen Jahren hat sich die Datenlage aber dank immer neuer Zuschätzungen von Forschern deutlich verbessert, und über Entwicklung und Ausmaß der Ungleichheit hat sich unter Experten zunehmend ein Konsens gebildet, ebenso wie zu den (geeignetsten) Messmethoden der Konzentration. Danach hat die Vermögenskonzentration in Deutschland seit 1990 und bis in die jüngste Zeit stark zugenommen und ist im internationalen Vergleich sehr hoch. In dieser Zeit hat die reichere Hälfte der Bevölkerung ihr Vermögen verdoppelt, vor allem dank steigender Kapitalerträge und Vermögenswerte. Dagegen hat sich der ohnehin schon geringere Anteil der unteren 50 Prozent am Gesamtvermögen nahezu halbiert. Dass die Vermögen in Deutschland damit international überdurchschnittlich ungleich verteilt sind, gilt selbst unter Berücksichtigung von Sonderfaktoren wie dem Vorhandensein einer gesetzlichen Rente, die von einigen als ein De-facto-Vermögen im Alter eingestuft wird. Dieses Paper soll einen Überblick über den Stand von Forschung und empirischen Befunden zur Verteilung von Vermögen in Deutschland geben.

2023-01-01T00:00:00Z Likaj, Xhulia Jacobs, Michael Fricke, Thomas https://hdl.handle.net/10419/281436 2024-01-27T02:09:57Z 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Growth, Degrowth or Post-growth? Towards a synthetic understanding of the growth debate Authors: Likaj, Xhulia; Jacobs, Michael; Fricke, Thomas Abstract: Arguments about the possibility and desirability of exponential economic growth have animated the environmental movement for half a century, since the publication of the Club of Rome report The Limits to Growth in 1972. The debate has been revived in recent years as the climate crisis has reached centre-stage. This paper seeks to unpick the different strands in the debate and the different kinds of arguments - philosophical, empirical, and policy-prescriptive - used by different writers and institutions. It suggests that the contemporary debate is best understood as a disagreement between political strategies, in which the character of public and academic discourse plays a key role.

2022-01-01T00:00:00Z Brandt, Nicola Exton, Carrie Fleischer, Lara https://hdl.handle.net/10419/281435 2024-01-27T02:06:13Z 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Well-being at the heart of policy: lessons from national initiatives around the OECD Authors: Brandt, Nicola; Exton, Carrie; Fleischer, Lara Abstract: The COVID-19 crisis is both an enormous challenge and a shock that has prompted many to rethink the status quo. The socio-political effects of the pandemic go far beyond the economy and health care system, touching on many aspects of people's lives and societies' communal fabric, from jobs to education, mental health, gender roles in households, social cohesion and the state of democracy. Some inequalities have deepened - especially for young people, who will continue to feel the consequences of COVID-19 for a long time - and the pandemic has been described as both a wake-up call and dress rehearsal for other crises, including climate change. The fundamental role of public institutions in safeguarding people's well-being has also become apparent. After an initial focus on the emergency response to COVID-19, governments are now developing recovery strategies that will lay the foundations for future well-being. A reflection about what kind of society citizens want to see emerge post-COVID and about what matters most is imperative to "build back better lives". A growing community of practice of governments using a well-being approach to public policy already exists. This brief showcases why well-being approaches have gained traction over the past decade across the OECD, pointing to emerging international consensus on what constitutes "a good life", and how this evidence is increasingly used in innovative ways to inform policy decisions3. Germany has made steps in the past to measure wellbeing more broadly and can benefit from other countries' experience in translating these metrics into practice. This brief is intended to stimulate a discussion on how to do so.

2022-01-01T00:00:00Z