Germany The European Economic Leader
After years of growth, with its export oriented economy, Germany has certainly suffered notably under the worldwide financial crisis that has caused a reduction in demand of German products. The government therefore adopted schemes such as the car scrapping incentive scheme and other growth policies to boost the domestic demand. The focus of these policies is to protect jobs and the businesses’ ability to invest. The Ifo Business Survey for June 2009 reports an improving business climate for trade and industry in Germany, but an accurate estimate of the economic development is still problematic. However a contraction in the real GDP by 6% is likely. (Source: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie, 2009 & Ifo Business Climate Germany, 2009)
