ZEW President Wambach speaks at the ZEW Economic Forum 2016 - "Digitalisation Poses a Number of Challenges to the Social Market Economy"

"The process of digitalisation poses a number of challenges to the social market economy in Germany," explains Professor Achim Wambach, President of the Mannheim Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW). In his opening address at the ZEW Economic Forum, which this year addresses the question "New Rules for the Digital Economy?", President Wambach makes it clear just how explosive the issues subsumed under the rather technical term "digital economy" really are.

According to Wambach, instruments which until now have proven reliable in the social market economy – such as private ownership, prices, competition or social partnerships – will have little resonance if private ownership is to become shared in the so-called Sharing Economy, if data becomes a form of currency, if businesses such as Google or Facebook override competition, and if artificial intelligence leads to the increased flexibility and disintegration of working relationships. It is in view of such changes that the question of how best to safeguard competition and social balance in the future has become critical to economic and social policy.

Digitalisation is hugely important, not only for growth, but also in ensuring that the German economy remains internationally competitive in the future. "At the same time, however, we need to consider the digital economy as well as the conditions it entails, and develop new rules," says Wambach. "We must ensure new businesses are still able to compete against large monopolies in the future; that consumers are able to determine how much personal data they are willing to disclose for certain products and services; that crowdworkers receive fair pay for good work." In dealing with such issues, competition and economic policy finds itself entering uncharted territory.

Exactly what approach should be taken in this new "territory" will be the subject of intense discussions at today's ZEW Economic Forum 2016. The President of the Federal Cartel Office, Andreas Mundt, Julia Holtz, Competition Director at Google, Christoph Weigler, General Manager at Uber München, and ZEW President Achim Wambach will participate in a podium discussion moderated by Professor Thomas Fetzer, University of Mannheim and MaCCI. The discussion shall focus on the topic "Power in the Digital Economy – Uncharted Territory for Competition Policy".

The ZEW Economic Forum will be brought to a close by Professor Dietmar Harhoff, who will give a presentation entitled "Internet, Innovation and Competition". Harhoff is Director of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition and Chairman of the German government's Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation.