VfS Annual Conference 2018 – Digitalisation Needs to Be Happening More Intensively Across all Sections of the Economy

This year, the Verein für Socialpolitik (VfS), with president of the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim, Professor Achim Wambach at the helm, held its annual conference at the University of Freiburg with a focus on “Digital Economy”. One of the main take-aways from the conference was that, in terms of digitalisation, Germany has a lot of catching up to do if it wants to compete on the international arena. This is where the knowledge and expertise of economists plays an increasingly valuable role.

With Achim Wambach at the helm, the Verein für Socialpolitik put together a diverse programme of around 430 contributions for this year’s conference. Over the course of the event from 2 to 5 September, ZEW researchers took part in 15 lectures and two panel discussions. The institute also had its own information stand at the venue. In their presentations, ZEW researchers tackled a variety of topics ranging from the relationship between regional unemployment and online labour markets to reform efforts in the European Economic and Monetary Union, migration, tax transparency and educational inequality.

ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach, who took over as chair of Verein für Socialpolitik in January 2017, participated in a panel discussion on “70 Years of the Social Market Economy”, in which he underlined, in the context of the role of constitutional economics, the need for policymakers to receive strong support from research and scientific institutions when weighing up the benefits of a free market versus government intervention. “We need to compile, compare and analyse data, and deliver a strong market design to deal with operational problems.” This is not so much about analysing individual policies, but rather about insight and understanding. “Digitalisation makes us nervous because it is turning the previous economic order that we all know on its head,” said Wambach. In this context, economists play an important role in terms of providing expert knowledge.

SMEs most affected by limited broadband infrastructure

In a further panel session, Professor Irene Bertschek, head of the ZEW Research Department “Digital Economy”, discussed the challenges digitalisation poses for economic policy with a number of other respected experts in the field. Using the latest ZEW research findings she showed that, while German industry has made significant progress in recent years, the main barrier to digital transformation cited over and over again by firms is insufficient broadband infrastructure. “This is particularly the case for small and medium-sized enterprises,” said Bertschek. In addition, many companies lack the necessary digital skills among their staff, making complementary investments in human capital an essential additional step. “Digitalisation needs to be happening more intensively across all sections of the economy,” stated Bertschek.

This year’s conference also welcomed three of the most influential and respected figures in the field of digital economy as keynote speakers: Susan Athey from Stanford University, David Parkes from Harvard University and Hal Varian, chief economist for the US search engine giant Google, who previously delivered a presentation on the same topic as a guest speaker at ZEW.

The next VfS Annual Conference will be held on 22 to 25 September 2019 at the University of Leipzig. The theme of the conference will be “30 Years Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall – Democracy and the Market Economy”. The VfS currently has around 4,000 personal and institutional members, making it one of the largest economic associations in Europe.