OMSW · Economic Impact Analysis · 1996–2026

30 Years of Economic Policy Record

Bundestag decisions and their impact on Germany's competitiveness.

Current decisions →To the annual review ↓

Key message

Where we stand

Since 2011 the majority of resolutions ran against competitiveness – the economy was not the focus. We are seeing the result today.

What must now apply

Every new resolution must strengthen the economy as a location: at least neutral, better still clearly positive. Only in this way can we reverse course.

Focus Report

Cumulative Location Burdens: How Energy, Levy, Bureaucracy and Demographic Costs Reinforce Each Other in Germany (2026–2031)

Individual assessments underestimate the impact: energy costs, tax and levy burden, bureaucracy, and labor costs reinforce one another. The report shows the cumulative burden – quantitatively substantiated.

Read report →

+53

Record 2000–2009

Reform years · Sum of scores

−45

Record from 2010

Sum of scores · 15+ years

+36

Strongest era: Merkel I

CDU/CSU + SPD

Decisions

recorded over 30 years

Annual Record 1996–2026

Each decision is scored from −10 (maximally harmful) to +10 (maximally beneficial). For each year, the chart shows the sum of positive points upward and the sum of negative points downward – making visible how much was promoted and how much burdened in a given year. Hover/tap shows the decisions of the year, click filters the list.

↔ swipe for all years · tap a bar to show details

negativepositiveneutral / no major decision2026 = simulation

The vertical bands mark the legislative periods / governments (label above). The chart shows only adopted major decisions – years without any remain empty. For 2026 so far none have been recorded; 14 initiatives are in the parliamentary process (to the pipeline). They deliberately do not move the bar: only after adoption is a project rated as a decision with a score – this keeps all 30 years comparable.

Outlook: What future decisions mean

This assessment is not a rearview mirror, but a benchmark. Before the Bundestag lie decisions whose economic significance is of the same order of magnitude as those evaluated here – they determine whether the growth weakness of the 2020s will be perpetuated or broken. The grades come from the Location Outlook.

Energy costs:−2

Whether the industrial electricity price falls structurally will determine the future of energy-intensive industry.

Labour supply:−3

Pension policy (stabilization instead of further early retirement) and labor market integration determine potential growth.

Investment:±0

Whether the €500bn special fund has an additional and productive effect – instead of filling budget gaps – is the greatest lever.

Bureaucracy & taxes:+3

Relief and reduction of bureaucracy in an effective dose instead of symbolic baby steps.

Migration:−4

Whether immigration is managed and employment-oriented – the currently fiscally burdensome structure is the greatest risk factor.

Financial stability:+2

Whether capital buffers and regulation enable growth rather than restrain it shapes the supply of credit.