Why did Germany bounce back faster than the other euro-zone countries after the subprime crisis, and will this happen again after the COVID crisis?
The reasons why Germany bounced back faster than other euro-zone countries after the subprime crisis were probably: That Germany did not have to correct excessive household and corporate debt; That Germany did not have a real estate bubble before the subprime crisis; That Germany did not have to eliminate an external deficit that could no longer be financed; And, consequently, that Germany was not confronted with rising interest rates and falling corporate investment; The ability of German industry to take advantage of the recovery in global trade after the crisis. We can see that none of these explanations will be valid after the COVID crisis: this time around, the euro-zone countries other than Germany do not have excessive debt, external deficits or a real estate bubble; global trade will remain weak and, moreover , the production of durable goods, an important part of the German economy, will remain in bad shape. It is far from certain that Germany will emerge from the COVID crisis stronger than the other euro-zone countries.