Deutsche Bank criticises German export fixation
The new chief economist of Deutsche Bank has criticised Germany's dependence on exports at the expense of domestic demand, saying that other western countries had done better in the last 20 years.
Thomas Mayer, newly appointed chief economist at Deutsche Bank, told Saturday's edition of the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper, "The export model is not successful in areas like growth, employment and economic wealth."
Mayer claimed that countries that concentrated more on domestic demands, including Britain, the United States and France, had prospered more in the past 20 years. For this reason, Mayer said that German should not mourn the loss of its export crown.
In order to strengthen domestic demand, Mayer recommended lowering productivity rather than higher wages for everyone. He said Germans should "stop replacing simple work with machines, and instead consider ideas like re-introducing counter ticket sales in railway stations and manning gates at car parks." This would put more people to work and thus support domestic demand, he believes.
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Thomas Mayer, newly appointed chief economist at Deutsche Bank, told Saturday's edition of the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper, "The export model is not successful in areas like growth, employment and economic wealth."
Mayer claimed that countries that concentrated more on domestic demands, including Britain, the United States and France, had prospered more in the past 20 years. For this reason, Mayer said that German should not mourn the loss of its export crown.
In order to strengthen domestic demand, Mayer recommended lowering productivity rather than higher wages for everyone. He said Germans should "stop replacing simple work with machines, and instead consider ideas like re-introducing counter ticket sales in railway stations and manning gates at car parks." This would put more people to work and thus support domestic demand, he believes.
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