Press Service

London, 15 April 2008

“Unsere Schule ist extrem ungerecht” - Frühe Einschulung behindert die Karriere

Mit fünf oder sechs Jahren eingeschulte Kinder haben geringere Chancen, später auf das Gymnasium zu wechseln als Jungen und Mädchen, die im Alter von sieben Jahren in die Schule kommen.

Neue Forschungsergebnisse belegen nun, dass sich die zunächst benach-teiligten Kinder bis zur zehnten Jahrgangsstufe wieder Vorteile erarbeiten: Nach Erreichen der zehnten Klasse wechseln sie häufiger auf eine höhere Schulform als ältere Mitschüler. Ebenfalls neu ist das Resultat, dass die jüngeren Schüler später mit niedrigeren Gehältern rechnen müssen.

For the full German press release please click here

London, 16 January 2008

New Study suggests: Germans are the Better Prepared Entrepreneurs when Starting Business Abroad

Thousands of would-be entrepreneurs in the UK try to establish businesses abroad without proper planning: New research study published by the Anglo-German Foundation claims that Germans display a more classic entrepreneurial mindset than the British, if we accept that a realistic assessment of business risks and the development of adequate risk mitigation strategies are essential components of successful entrepreneurship. While there appears to be many thousands of would-be entrepreneurs in the UK with no hesitation in releasing the considerable equity in their properties to establish businesses in that most risky of settings – a foreign country – many British entrepreneurs do not take the careful, informed and well-planned approach that can provide the basis for the future success and longevity of their enterprises

For the full UK press release please click here

London, 5 December 2007

Policy Debate in London | Creating Sustainable Growth in Europe

Jim Murphy MP, British Minister for Europe, will outline todayduring a policy debate at the Foreign & Commonwealth Officethe UK's ambitions for a 'Global Europe' that delivers jobs, growth and fairness. He will consider the challenges ofincreasing job market participation, of looking outwards tonon-European markets and of making the single market ameans to bring wealth and opportunity to Europe and beyond.

For the full UK press release please click here

Berlin, 29 November 2007

Policy Debate in Berlin | Creating Sustainable Growth in Europe

Today the President of the Federal Environment Agency, Professor Dr. Andreas Troge, will outline during a policy debate at the Auswärtiges Amt the BMU’s vision of a ‘New Deal for the economy, the environment and jobs’.

For the full UK press release please click here
For the full German press release please click here

Berlin/London, 11 October 2007

Raising statutory retirement age will have no effect
if poor health is the underlying reason for inactivity

Health is an extremely important factor in the retirement decision for both men and women in the UK and Germany. The Anglo-German Foundation funded study 'Health, Retirement and Inequality: can Germany and the UK learn from each other?' suggests that the size of the health effect is larger than that of pension entitlement and income in both countries. Health shocks rather than a continual level of poor health are important in the retirement decision.

For the full UK press release please click here.

Berlin/London, 28 June 2007

Wachsende Lohnspreizung in Deutschland
Studie belegt Reallohnrückgang für Geringverdiener

Die Lohnschere in Deutschland klafft weiter auseinander als bislang oft angenommen. Seit den 1980er Jahren steigen die Reallöhne in den oberen Lohngruppen deutlich schneller als für Geringverdiener, deren Löhne in den 1990er Jahren sogar rückläufig waren. Zu diesem Ergebnis gelangt eine aktuelle, von der Deutsch-Britischen Stiftung und der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft geförderte wissenschaftliche Studie, die als IZA Discussion Paper erschienen ist. Der Untersuchung zufolge wurde die Entwicklung der Löhne in den oberen Gehaltsgruppen in erster Linie durch den technologischen Wandel hervorgerufen, wohingegen die wachsende Ungleichheit am unteren Ende der Lohnskala zum Teil auf den schwindenden Einfluss der Gewerkschaften zurückzuführen ist. Dieser Befund ist gerade vor dem Hintergrund der Debatte um die Einführung eines gesetzlichen Mindestlohns in Deutschland von hoher Aktualität. 

For the full German press release please click here.
For the full UK press release please click here.

London/Berlin, 5 March 2007

Gründergeist, und dann?
Neuer AGF Report berichtet über die Entwicklung ‚jugendlicher’
Hightech-Unternehmen in Deutschland und dem Vereinigten Königreich

Warum gelingt es Europa nicht, neue Unternehmen von Weltformat wie Amazon, Google und eBay hervorzubringen und gleichzeitig deren Wachstum voranzutreiben? Ein internationales Team von Wissenschaftlern des Zentrums für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung in Mannheim und der University of Exeter untersuchte diese Frage im Auftrag der der Deutsch-Britischen Stiftung.

Die Autoren haben in ihrer erstmals langfristig angelegten Untersuchung (1991-2003) die Entwicklung von 600 neu gegründeten technologieintensiven Unternehmen in Deutschland und dem Vereinigten Königreich verfolgt. Dabei zeigt sich, dass das typische deutsche Unternehmen erfolgreicher ist als ein vergleichbares britisches Unternehmen. In den ersten zehn Jahren seit seiner Gründung wuchs das deutsche Median-Unternehmen um das Elffache, gegenüber einem achtfachen Wachstum im Vereinigten Königreich.

• For the full German press release please click here.
• For the full AGF report please click here.

The “Facts of Life” for ‘Adolescent’ High-tech Firms in the UK
New AGF research study tracked 600 German and UK high-tech start-ups  

Be International, be innovative but if you wish to survive, correct managerial weaknesses quickly, and don’t use Venture Capitalists and Business Angels unless you really are exceptional – are the main conlusions of a uniquely long term research study funded by the Anglo-German Foundation: An international team of academics from the University of Exeter and ZEW, Mannheim tracked 600 German and UK high-tech start-ups over a twelve year period (1991-2003).

• For the full UK press release please click here.
• For the full AGF report please click here.

London/Berlin, 22 November 2006

New Anglo-German Foundation Report
"Wind Power in Britain and Germany: Explaining contrasting development paths"

How come Britain has all the wind, but Germany has all the wind farms?

Despite having only average wind conditions, Germany has the largest operating capacity of wind power in the world and enjoys world leadership in the manufacture of wind turbines. In contrast, the UK has the best wind resource in Europe but little installed capacity and an underdeveloped manufacturing base.

A new Anglo-German Foundation Report suggests that German policy-makers recognised the need to adjust policy instruments to changes and developments in the policy environment and acted accordingly, whereas their British counterparts have so far failed to draw the necessary lessons from national experience or international comparison.

• For the full press release please click here.
• For the full AGF report please click here.

London/Berlin, 21 June 2006

New Anglo-German Foundation Report
"The British Banking System: A good role model for Germany?"

A new AGF report suggests that there are serious issues in Britain  with regard to access to payments services and finance,  the provision of small business bank account services and widespread branch closures.

• For the full press release please click here.
• For the full AGF report please click here.

Support for Journalists

To encourage balanced and informed media coverage of issues in contemporary Britain and Germany, the Anglo-German Foundation offers a range of support services to British journalists researching articles or programmes on Germany, and German journalists doing similar research for features on the UK.

These services replace the annual Journalism Prizes offered by the Foundation during the 1990's. Services on offer range from access to the Foundation's extensive network of contacts among researchers, analysts, and policy-makers in both countries to modest financial support for research visits to the target country.

For details please contact our Press & Publications Officer on 020 7823 1123 ext 2 or send an e-mail to ab@agf.org.uk.

AGF Executive Summaries

Executive summaries are short documents addressing the policy implications of the research findings. Executive Summaries are published within the reports and are also available separately on our publications page. A German Version of most Executive Summaries is available online.

Press Inquiries

Press inquiries should be made to the Press & Publications Officer, Annette Birkholz on 020 7823 1123 ext 2 or ab@agf.org.uk.