Agenda 2010 - YES/NO/CANCEL?

Author: Kurt Vogler-Ludwig

Publisher: Economix

Year: 2017

Language: German

Proposal of a new long-term strategy

The essay suggests an update of the German long-term strategy rather than returning to old approaches. It describes the main challenges on the German labour market and points to the key areas for political action during the next 15 years:

  • The gap between poor and rich and the question of fairness: narrowing this gap requires the reform of legal company structures in order to better implement societal principals in business action;
  • The demographic challenge and the role of immigration: in addition to a general immigration law this particularly requires a structured system of life-long learning as the third pillar of vocational training in Germany;
  • The entrance into the digital age and the necessity for an accelerated development and use of the Internet of Things in order to guarantee the survival of the German manufacturing industries;
  • The acceleration of structural transition on the German labour market, which calls for the use of flexicurity approaches to absorb the negative effects of technological and global change;
  • The imbalances of world trade, which appear as the main reason for the uprising protectionism and call for an action plan for a balanced world trade system.

Against the background of the financial crises in 2008 the essay urges for a long-term and sustainable approach in growth- and employment policies not only in Germany.

PDF (in German)