https://hdl.handle.net/10419/57683 Mon, 28 Sep 2026 18:33:58 GMT 2026-09-28T18:33:58Z https://hdl.handle.net/10419/155375 Title: Climate protection and a new operator: The Eastern German lignite industry is changing Authors: Oei, Pao-Yu; Brauers, Hanna; Kemfert, Claudia; von Hirschhausen, Christian; Schäfer, Dorothea; Schmalz, Sophie Abstract: According to the German federal government's climate protection targets, there will be a continuous reduction of lignite-based electricity well before 2030. Simulations show that the currently authorized lignite mines in eastern Germany would not be fully depleted if the climate protection targets for 2030 were complied with. This makes planning for new mines or the expansion of existing ones superfluous. For the planning security of all the actors involved, policy makers should bindingly exclude permits for additional surface mines. In terms of the follow-up costs of lignite mining, the issue is whether or not the companies' provisions are high enough and insolvency-proof. In this context, the new ownership structures in the eastern German lignite industry, after Vattenfall's sale of its lignite division to Czech Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding (EPH), have become a matter of importance. Simulations show that only under optimistic assumptions, the current provisions of 1.5 billion euros for the Lusatian lignite region are sufficient to cover recultivation costs. However, alternative scenarios show significant shortfalls. For this reason, policy makers should work toward independent, transparent cost estimates. Additional measures should be considered as required, such as the creation of a public sector fund to permanently protect the general public against being forced to take on the costs of recultivation. This is also animportant theme for the government's new Commission on Growth, Structural Change, and Regional Development (Kommission Wachstum, Strukturwandel und Regionalentwicklung). Individual federal states also have key roles to play in the creation of a dependable roadmap for a coal phase-out. For example, the government of Brandenburg is now in the process of revising its energy strategy for 2030 (Energiestrategie 2030). Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10419/155375 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10419/158839 Title: "Little room for maneuver with tax relief in the medium term": Interview with Stefan Bach Authors: Bach, Stefan; Wittenberg, Erich Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10419/158839 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10419/149807 Title: "Companies should have more women on all levels of the hierarchy": Seven questions for Elke Holst Authors: Holst, Elke; Wittenberg, Erich Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10419/149807 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10419/158840 Title: Hourly wages in lower deciles no longer lagging behind when it comes to wage growth Authors: Brenke, Karl; Kritikos, Alexander S. Abstract: For many years, only better-paid workers benefited from Germany's real wage increases. In contrast, dependent employees with lower hourly wages suffered substantial losses, while the low-wage sector expanded. Around 2010, these trends came to an end. Now all wage groups benefit from wage increases-even if those in the middle of the distribution lag somewhat behind. At the very least, this new pattern means that the gap between high and low wages is not getting wider. This development is kind of surprising, as the labor market is shifting to higher-skilled jobs. Workers with higher hourly wages are still doing relatively well when it comes to wage developments; this applies not only to the long-term trend, but also to the recent developments. A longitudinal analysis based on data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) shows that with time, a large share of low-wage workers were able to earn much higher hourly wage rates. For example, more than half of those workers whose wages were in the bottom 20 percent in 2010, and who were still dependently employed in 2015, were no longer among the low-wage workers. Full-time employees in this group experienced stronger increases. Overall, the results show that hourly wages have been increasing consistently in real terms since the financial crisis and that the growth has been more evenly distributed than it was before. Nevertheless, the increases since 2010 have not made up for the real wage losses incurred by workers who were in the bottom 40 percent 15 years earlier. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10419/158840 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z