“The outlook for 2021 is still far below average despite a predicted normalization of GDP growth rates,” says Dr. Michael Schröder, senior researcher in the Research Department “International Finance and Financial Management” at ZEW Mannheim and project manager of the CEP survey.
“In the June survey, the forecasts for real gross domestic product (GDP) were again slightly revised downwards compared to the previous month. Only for the second quarter, which is now coming to an end, do the experts expect better quarterly growth figures than in the previous month. Instead of 0.5 per cent, they now expect an average growth rate of 1.0 per cent. GDP forecast for the entire year of 2020 has been revised down from 2.1 per cent in the last month to currently 1.8 per cent. The experts are also somewhat less optimistic for 2021, lowering their expectations for real GDP growth from 5.6 per cent in the previous month to 5.2 per cent.
A slight majority of the respondents (54.1 per cent) still rates the current economic situation as bad or very bad. Yet the assessment has improved slightly compared to the previous month. “Overall, the results suggest that the currently rather unfavourable situation will improve significantly over the next 12 months. However, despite expectations of a gradual normalization in 2021, real GDP growth is still likely to be well below the growth rates of recent years,” summarises Michael Schröder.
ZEW in Mannheim conducts research in the field of applied and policy-oriented economics and provides access to important data sets for national and international researchers. The institute provides advice to policymakers, private companies and government institutions at both the national and EU level on how to tackle current economic policy challenges. The central concern of ZEW’s research is to analyse and design markets and institutions that allow for the sustainable and efficient development of knowledge-based economies in Europe. By keeping the public informed on its latest research and providing further training to researchers and business leaders alike, ZEW acts as a guide through economic change. ZEW was founded in 1991 and employs a staff of approximately 193, two thirds of whom are researchers. ZEW is a member of the Leibniz Association, a network of outstanding research institutes in Germany.
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