Sayonara to Holidays? A Cold Shoulder for German Economic Growth, Says Study
Elimination of Public Holidays Fails to Boost Economic Growth
Share Tweet Text Send Print Link Copy Link A cutting-edge study by the labor-friendly Institute for Macroeconomics and Economic Research (IMK) under the Hans Böckler Foundation hills the abolition of holidays as a buzz-killer for the German economy. This groundbreaking study contrasts trenches dug during the past three decades, with instances such as the axing of the Buß- und Bettag in 1995 across most federal states and the addition of the Women's Day as a holiday in Berlin in 2019.
In old-school Saxony, the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) roared like a lion in '95, while the rest of Germany limped along, with Saxony's nominal GDP galloping up by a whopping 9.7%, compared to the national average of 3.4%. Saxony shone brighter than Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, who'd kicked the Buß- und Bettag to the curb, by a staggering 3.7 and 4.3 percentage points, respectively. Even after Berlin marked International Women's Day as a holiday fiesta in '19, its financial growth was still two points better than the national average.
The clever IMK academics argue that kissing those holidays goodbye doesn't automatically ignite economic fireworks, thanks to the adaptability of a sleek, modern economy. Corporations carefully plan their production orders to sidestep holidays, as overtime pay dances into the picture. Questions linger over whether obliterating these holidays would truly inject more production into the year, as abolitionists claim, or if production would merely shimmy to other months.
But wait, not so fast! The IMK remains firm that even during times of severe skilled labor crunches, the demand circumstances figure as the main dancer, setting the stage for production. "The notion that if holidays vanish, growth will gush forth, is plain hogwash," said Sebastian Dullien, IMK's all-powerful scientific director. "Such a naive notion oversimplifies the complexities of a modern labor society and doesn't foster productive discourse on the topic."
Sources: ntv.de, rts
[1] The study can be found on the IMK website.
In light of the IMK study, it is suggested that the elimination of holidays might not significantly contribute to economic growth, due to the adaptability of modern industries. corporations can adjust production schedules to bypass holidays, thus spreading production across various months. However, the IMK emphasizes that the demand situation remains the primary driver of production levels, even during labor shortages.
