Real gross domestic product is likely to have increased again slightly in the first quarter of 2024, according to the April Monthly Report. The somewhat higher level of industrial output and a rise in goods exports are supporting the German economy. Overall, they conclude, there is still no sign of a sustained improvement for the German economy.

“Over time, the IMF has repeatedly managed to emerge stronger from crises. However, the external circumstances have rarely been more challenging than they are today,” Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel write in a guest article at Handelsblatt. “An IMF that focuses on its core mandate is best placed to strengthen the global economic and monetary system,” they explain in a contribution to mark the IMF’s 80th anniversary. 

Speaking at a symposium, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said an official farewell to Claudia Buch and Joachim Wuermeling, both of whom had left the Executive Board on 31 December 2023. Claudia Buch had been Vice-President of the Bundesbank since 2014 and Joachim Wuermeling had been an Executive Board member since 2016. 

Recent decades have seen the rate of firm entries and exits decline in the large euro area countries. This could explain the persistent weakness of euro area productivity. As shown in the Bundesbank’s latest Monthly Report, there are cyclical and structural reasons for the weak business dynamism – including demographic change and high levels of bureaucracy. The Bundesbank’s experts demonstrate that improving institutional and regulatory frameworks can help strengthen business dynamics and thus also productivity growth.