Kapitalbeteiligung im 21. Jahrhundert: Antwort auf Thomas Piketty

This white paper discusses an aspect that seems to be missing in the debate about Piketty’s “Capital in the 21st Century”: to build the bridge between capital and labour and to spread capital investment over a wide base. Based on historical data, it shows that capital participation could be a realistic option for Germany and for all of Europe. It would therefore be an alternative to the redistribution of wealth suggested by Thomas Piketty, and it would fit very well into the current debate about additional improvements to the private pension system in Germany. Calculations prove that if European employees had contributed small amounts of money to saving plans, they could own approximately 50% of the European stock market. Employees could become capital owners. Labour income could be–at least partly–replaced by capital income.     

Demographic implications of autocentric development

The German politicologist Dieter Senghaas reached in his recently published book¹ the conclusion that the attempt to integrate the developing countries with the international economic system as it exists at present is bound to work out to the detriment of the developing countries — that it can only result in their “structural disablement“². Dissociation from the present system of international division of labour and origination of an “autocentric development“ offered to the developing countries their only chance of arresting the previously analysed deformation process and embarking on genuine development³. This model however comes up against demographic obstacles.     

Klaus Beck,Freie Universität Berlin

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

An economic crisis?

According to estimates made by several German economic research institutes, economic growth will slow down also in the coming year. For the first half of 1967 an increase in terms of money by 5% and in real value by 2% is expected. As compared with growth rates in former years this growth is considered a very moderate one. After almost twenty years of uninterrupted prosperity this easing of the cyclical conditions is stirring up in many quarters the deep-rooted fear of an “economic crisis”. Is the Federal Republic of Germany really headed for an economic collapse? To clear up this problem INTERECONOMICS has asked Professor Dr Andreas Predohl, the German Overseas Institute, Hamburg, and Dr Hans-Jurgen Schmahl, the Hamburg Institute for International Economics, Hamburg, for their opinion.     

Forschungsfeld in Bewegung

Ohne Zusammenfassung