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Digitalization can help create greater gender equality. Moreover, the digital age will provide more workplace opportunities for women than for men. But the right policies need to be in place so that women can take advantage of these improved opportunities.

Today in Berlin, the Co-Chairs of the Think 20 group of think tanks called on the leaders of the G20 countries to expand their agenda of economic growth and macroeconomic stability to include a greater focus on social needs as well as environmental and climate protection. They also urged the summit to send a clear signal that global issues would continue to be addressed in a coordinated, multilateral manner.

The Hamburg G20 summit should send a clear signal in support of climate protection, says Dennis Snower, President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy and advisor to the G20. He believes it may still be possible to persuade the Trump administration to act on climate protection. But even without global cooperation, progress can be made on combating climate change.

Two weeks from today, the G20 Hamburg Summit will start. Migration flows of refugees and other migrants will be one of the topics high on the agenda. As global leaders, the G20 countries should engage host countries in a “partnership for refugees” to make migration policy more effective. This is just one of the results from the consulting process of the T20 (Think 20), a network of international Think Tanks. The network is officially mandated by the German G20 Presidency to come up with bold and innovative proposals that can become the basis of future policy making—based on scientific evidence, not short-term political objectives.

Three young economists based in the United States received this year’s Excellence Awards in Global Economic Affairs from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW). Created to promote young talent, the Excellence Awards are open to researchers and academics up to 35 years of age.

The thirteenth annual Global Economy Prize was awarded today in Kiel. It is bestowed on pioneers of a cosmopolitan, economically liberal and public-spirited society. All this year’s laureates are notable for their special commitment to “social responsibility,” commented IfW President Dennis Snower.

The German economy is approaching boom territory. GDP growth of 1.7 percent is likely in 2017, rising to 2.0 percent in 2018. Macroeconomic capacity utilization is running at above-average levels and will continue to rise. Six years into the expansion, it will reach a peak not seen since the boom year of 2007. Public budgets continue to register record surpluses.

The German federal government has invited African representatives as well as experts and private sector stakeholders to a High-Level Dialogue between the G20 and African countries on 12 and 13 June 2017 in Berlin. The importance of working together more closely in the fields of research and policy advice had already been stressed during the T20 Global Solutions Summit at the end of May. Initiated by the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), a new Africa Standing Group (T20 ASG) was launched at the summit in Berlin.

International think tanks in the Think20 group (T20) today called upon the twenty largest industrialized and emerging countries (G20) to foster inclusive societies and sustainable growth. The appeal came from the T20 chairmen Dennis J. Snower, President of the Kiel Institute for World Economy Kiel (IfW), and Dirk Messner, Director of the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) in Bonn, at the end of a two-day conference in Berlin, attended by more than 800 international experts from academia, busines, civil society, and government.

International think tanks in the Think 20 group (T20) today presented twenty policy proposals for the twenty largest industrialized and emerging countries (G20) to German Chancellery Minister Peter Altmaier. Unveiled at the T20’s Global Solutions Summit in Berlin, the document “20 Solution Proposals for the G20” contains recommendations about dealing with global challenges like climate change, inequality, and digitalization. The T20 called on the G20 to follow up on the proposals by agreeing concrete steps for implementation.

The Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) will continue its policy consulting for the G20 beyond 2017. It has initiated the launch of the "Global Solutions Initiative" to network international research institutes and think tanks to offer advice to the 20 largest industrialized and emerging countries (G20). The heart of the initiative is the Council of Global Problem Solving (CGP), a group of leading institutes dealing with G20 issues.

How can the responsibility for refugees be distributed more fairly – globally and within the EU? And how can we curb irregular migration while expanding legal immigration to the benefit of all concerned? Funded by Stiftung Mercator, the MEDAM team launched its first annual assessment report addressing these challenges.

At the Think 20-Summit leading international think tanks will gather to develop Policy Solutions for the G20. The Think 20 are mandated by the 2017 German G20 presidency and will be chaired by Dennis J. Snower, President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) and Dirk Messner, Director of the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE).

How can the G20 ensure sustained progress on climate protection? How can governments leverage the opportunities of digitalization and mitigate the risks? How can migration and asylum policy challenges be overcome? Leading think tanks from the G20 countries have been grappling with these and other key policy issues facing the 20 largest industrialized and emerging economies (G20) and are now presenting their recommendations to the G20 via the G20-insights.org internet platform.

The German economy is already in the fifth year of a moderate upturn. According to the Gemeinschaftsdiagnose (GD, joint economic forecast) that was prepared by Germany’s five leading economic research institutes on behalf of the Federal Government, capacity utilization is gradually increasing, and aggregate production capacities are now likely to have slightly exceeded their normal utilisation levels. However, cyclical dynamics remain low compared to earlier periods of recoveries, as consumption expenditures, which do not exhibit strong fluctuations, have been the main driving force so far. In addition, net migration increases potential output, counteracting a stronger capacity tightening.

The world’s leading think tanks will gather on 29 and 30 May 2017 in Berlin for the Think 20 Summit. Their goal: to develop 20 Global Solutions for the G20.

The winners of the Global Economy Prize 2017 have been confirmed. Awarded by the Kiel Institute in partnership with the City of Kiel and Schleswig-Holstein Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK), the prize is now being presented for the 13th time. It aims to encourage international efforts to tackle major global economic challenges.

As it enters its fifth year, Germany's recovery remains robust. Various early indicators are trending clearly upward, and industrial order books are full. GDP growth in 2017—a year with fewer than average business days—is likely to be 1.7 percent, before rising to 2.0 percent in 2018. Growth is no longer being driven solely by consumer spending, which is softening, but also by exports and investment. Inflation is expected to reach 1.8 percent this year.