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How Germany is able to run the world’s second largest export economy

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Re: How Germany is able to run the world’s second largest export economy

#201

Post by toohotatopic »

Despegar wrote: post #48

I've said it before in another comment [1]: >There's nothing I enjoy more than the plight of the German Saver, who's obsession with "fiscal responsibility" has led to shitty austerity politics all across the EU (to be fair some other northern European countries like Netherlands also share the same view) and depressed growth for the poorer southern European countries. Germany has benefited most of all from the unfinis…

>The people who have benefited the most from this arrangement are the German capital class.

It's not necessarily Germans who own the companies. This article from 2014 shows: [1]

>>Who owns the DAX, Germany’s pre-eminent equity index?

>>Not many Germans, it turns out. According to fresh research from the Bundesbank, the share of domestic ownership of the index—which comprises the 30 largest public companies in traded in the equities markets—fell from 44.1% in 2005 to 36.3% in 2014. Meanwhile, the foreign ownership share rose from 55.9% to 63.7%.

[1] https://qz.com/273655/foreigners-own-most-of-germanys-dax/

Re: How Germany is able to run the world’s second largest export economy

#202

Post by jotm »

cosmodisk wrote: post #195
lispm wrote: post #152

What is often overlooked is this: Germany was export-oriented before the Euro, during the transition and with the Euro. Germany was export-oriented before reunification, during reunification and after reunification. The industry will adopt to those external factors: Germany was 'Exportweltmeister' with the super strong DM (which dominated European currencies) and it is a leading export nation with the Euro. There are…

Was half way through your post when I was about to write my comment about hidden champions,glad you mentioned it. This is something that tends to be overlooked quite often. Very very few countries have a model like this.Take the UK, as an example.An average town or even small city rarely has anything that isn't just for local market. For a lot of companies it's kind of fine,as the market is big enough to earn comfy l…

It's absolutely baffling. I've been looking into it for cheeses and ales, so many UK producers flat out say "We only ship within the UK" even though the cost of shipping is covered by the buyer and it would cost nothing, not even extra paperwork, to ship to the EU (for now).

Re: How Germany is able to run the world’s second largest export economy

#203

Post by noobdood »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #127
thenaturalist wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The number of "Hidden Champions" (SMEs most often in manufacturing of high tech machinery & components which are world leaders by market share in their respective niche) in Germany speaks to the contrary. Same situation in Japan.

Indeed, I myself worked for one such niche high tech machinery German company. The problem is, due to the thin margins in these hardware gigs, the salaries are piss poor compared to the skills needed (M.Sc. and up) as even making iOS Apps paid better. Only the execs and the couple of grey beards who were with the company since its inception were well paid, everyone else not so much. That's the reason youngsters aren'…

The same stuff? What about quality? Newb here.

Re: How Germany is able to run the world’s second largest export economy

#204

Post by jotm »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #57
jpfr wrote: post #33

The analysis is incomplete. It does not take services into account. Yes, Germany has a positive trade balance in goods. But the trade balance in services is negative. This ... well ... balances the balances. The UK has shifted its economy from production to services. Hence the negative trade balance for physical products excluding services.

This! Germany's manufacturing supremacy can't last forever with lower cost countries catching up fast. UK realized earlier it can't be competitive in manufacturing anymore. Knowledge work is the future in the West, not volume manufacturing.

So, you can buy good quality springs from China and Russia. Yet German suppliers are preferred, because they have better quality guarantees/control, I guess.

You realize that it's insanely easy for "knowledge work" to be replicated? Much more so than any manufacturing. China already does it.

What does that leave European and American companies with? Quality. It can apply to tangible and intangible goods equally well.

Re: How Germany is able to run the world’s second largest export economy

#205

Post by tathougies »

nostromo wrote: post #199
lispm wrote: post #152

What is often overlooked is this: Germany was export-oriented before the Euro, during the transition and with the Euro. Germany was export-oriented before reunification, during reunification and after reunification. The industry will adopt to those external factors: Germany was 'Exportweltmeister' with the super strong DM (which dominated European currencies) and it is a leading export nation with the Euro. There are…

I'm reminded of Trader Joe's -- a chain most people think of as a California-based chain of health food stores -- but has actually been owned by a media-shy German family for 40+ years.

Trader joes was not a german export. It was started by a Californian, and sold to a german family.

Re: How Germany is able to run the world’s second largest export economy

#206

Post by thaumasiotes »

gharding wrote: post #142
thaumasiotes wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Germany is a very new country (1871) and still comprised of markedly different regions. Interestingly, this is apparent in the genetics of Germans. You can distinguish, say, Frenchmen from non-Frenchmen fairly easily -- they form a natural cluster. Germans don't form a German cluster; they break down into three clusters focused in the north, south, and east. Northern Germans may look more like Danes than they do li…

You clearly do not understand "the French" and you should be careful making those claims anywhere you go in France to any actual native European french people outside of Paris. Every single people native to every single region will despise you for making such vile claims.

I would advise you to make sure that a factual claim is false before you start going around calling it "vile".

Re: How Germany is able to run the world’s second largest export economy

#207

Post by harikb »

I blame the lax bankruptcy laws in United States (in comparison to Germany). I think it creates a safety net that is too comfortable that the business can (a) give up too early or (b) use this as a pump & dump scheme where the owners walk away with money they had siphoned off early.

Compared to German insolvency procedures [1]

> The aim of insolvency proceedings is not to protect the cor-porate debtor from its creditors, but to maximize the insol-vency dividend payable to the creditors. To achieve this aim, proceedings may be directed either at a liquidation of the company’s business or at a reorganization of the company it-self by means of a plan of restructuring (Insolvenzplan). In the event of a liquidation, the company’s business operations may be sold as a going concern to an investor or the business may be wound up and the individual assets sold.

1. https://www.jonesday.com/files/Publication/1ec093d4-66fb-42a...

Re: How Germany is able to run the world’s second largest export economy

#208

Post by [deleted] »

ed_balls wrote: post #52

Good article, but the model is too simple. UK used to produce more cars than Germany, but it's the opposite now. Why? They haven't shared the same currency. German cars were better. > And it means those same workers in Spain are less equipped to compete for Manufacturing jobs — because Elon Musk has to pay them in German Euros instead of cheap Spanish Peseta. If you’ve got to pay everyone in German Euros, you might a…

[deleted]

Re: How Germany is able to run the world’s second largest export economy

#209

Post by makomk »

gdrulia wrote: post #136
mambojumbo wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

German products arent as high quality ad they used to be and most if them are pretty stale in terms of innovation. Sure they change the shape of cars and add new leds and interior eye candy but that is not progress. Imo german cars are low quality and lack diversity, and same goes for most machinery made in that country. US, Japanese, South Korean or other EU made products can be of similar or higher quality. Germany…

Disclaimer: I'm from Lithuania, little eastern Europe country. There has been a lot of talk about eastern Europe being a junkyard for german cars (or old european cars in general) in recents times, not the least locally, especially by politicians trying to justify weird decisions. Most of the time one vital factor remains overlooked, people don't have money for anything else here. German cars are valued by most the p…

There's a lot of controversy about eastern Europe becoming a junkyard for old German cars because those cars produce lots of pollution that affects the health of everyone in the country, which is the whole reason Germany and the other rich European countries don't want them anymore. Also, to add insult to injury, not only is the EU not allowing countries to block imports of those old polluting cars, they simultaneously expect all EU countries to meet stringent limits on how much of the pollutants they pump out is present in the air of their cities.
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