Deutschland und Japan: Mit Reformen zu neuer Dynamik (Germany and Japan: With Reforms to New Dynamics)

For almost a decade both Japan and Germany have been experiencing persistent low levels of economic growth. The diagnosis is clear: Japan and Germany are stuck in their impetus for reform. What reforms are necessary to return to a stable growth path? This question was the focal point of a joint symposium of the DIJ and the Cologne Institute for Business Research (Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln, IW), which was held on April 8, 2003, in memory of Horst Waesche, a long-time member of the board of Hoechst and Aventis and a former member of the DIJ’s advisory board, who died suddenly in March 2002.

The book contains the highly up-to-date papers of this symposium, focusing on four areas (mergers and acquisitions, social security, labor market policy and business financing), which are of special importance with regard to the ongoing reform discussions in both countries.