Climate change is a global challenge that requires international policy coordination. This conclusion is also borne out in a recent study on the macroeconomics implications of carbon pricing. Several different scenarios are considered – different regions introduce carbon pricing schemes unilaterally or in cooperation, and in the presence or absence of border adjustment schemes.

The June 2022 edition of the Monthly Report outlines the outlook for the German economy for 2022 to 2024 and lays out long-term scenarios and options for reforming the pension insurance scheme. Furthermore, it analyses both bracket creep in income tax rates and the current developments and challenges facing public finances in the euro area. The report concludes with an article on the survey of firms conducted by the Deutsche Bundesbank and how it is used to assess the financial situation of the corporate sector.

Scientific study on the expectations of firms in Germany

As a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, parents in Germany received a series of transfer payments from the state in 2020 and 2021. This so-called child bonus (“Kinderbonus”) amounted to a total of €450 per child. A new study finds that the child bonus led to only a slight increase in household spending. Therefore, the child bonus should be seen less as a fiscal stimulus measure and more as an instrument of redistribution from the general population to families.