The innovation policy of the German government and Länder provides small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a wide range of programs to promote their R & D and focuses, in particular, on the transfer of knowledge. In recent years, the programs have been streamlined and funding...

Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are unable to finance research and development (R & D) using only their internal resources. However, they have limited access to external financing loans for high-risk R & D projects. Therefore, funding programs initiated by the German government,...

The innovation policy for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is aimed, in particular, at knowledge transfer for the benefit of the small and medium-sized enterprises being supported, firstly by promoting R & D projects with several partners and secondly by promoting innovation networks....

The euro area economy is heavily specialized in research-intensive industries. The significance of these branches varies dramatically across the euro area countries but they are particularly important in Germany. Recent debate implies, to a certain extent, that the introduction of the euro...

The economic backlog of eastern Germany compared to western Germany is still sizeable, even 25 years after the fall of the Wall. In terms of GDP per inhabitant and productivity, eastern Germany has attained only 71 percent and threequarters of western German levels, respectively. The catch-up...

German corporations such as Volkswagen, Daimler, Bosch, and Siemens are among the most research intensive in the world. Despite increased expenditure on research and development (R&D) in other countries, the importance of Germany as a location for these companies is not decreasing. Foreign...

Deutsche und ausländische Unternehmen haben ihre Forschungsund Entwicklungsinvestitionen in Deutschland in den letzten Jahren beständig gesteigert. Mit gut 45 Milliarden Euro lagen die Aufwendungen im Jahr 2009 um ein Drittel über dem Niveau von 2001. Während die ausländischen Unternehmen...

To date, the European Union has been at the forefront of international climate protection. But there are now a number of other countries also pursuing a proactive energy and climate policy. They are increasingly investing in renewable energies, exploiting potential energy efficiencies in...