Report
Patrick Artus

Is Germany's competitiveness really that strong?

Germany has a massive trade surplus and is gaining export market shares ; it could therefore be thought that Germany's competitiveness is strong. This seems to be confirmed by the high levels of the modernisation of corporate capital and the labour force skills. But is it certain that Germany really has strong competitiveness? We have to examine two questions: Is Germany's large external surplus explained by its strong competitiveness or by its abnormally high level of savings (public and private)? We see that 70% of Germany's external surplus is due to the high level of savings and the low level of investment; Is the rapid growth in German exports explained by strong competitiveness by re-export of imports, which themselves are very high? We see that more than Germany's entire export market share gains are explained by re-export of imports. All things considered, Germany's competitiveness is in reality not very good.
Provider
Natixis
Natixis

Based across the world’s leading financial centers, Natixis CIB Research offers an integrated view of the markets. The team provides support to inform Natixis clients’ investment and hedging decisions across all asset classes.

 

Analysts
Patrick Artus

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