Ifo Industry Colloquium 2004

On 26 October 2004 the Ifo Institute conducted its fourth Ifo Industry Colloquium in collaboration with the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Munich and Upper Bavaria and the Bavarian State Ministry for Economics, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology. The analysis of the overall economy and the economic developments in manufacturing, the construction industry, wholesaling and retailing as well as in selected service sectors was the purpose of this one-day event. The results were documented in a detailed volume of conference proceedings. After the welcoming words of Dr. Reinhard Dörfler, executive director of the IHK for Munich and Upper Bavaria, Prof. Hans-Werner Sinn presented the economic situation in Germany and the world. Participants in the dialogue between politics and business in the afternoon were Dr. Otto Wiesheu, Bavarian State Minister for Economics, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology, and five representatives of the business world. The discussion was moderated by Nikolaus Piper, Chief Editor of the Business Section of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The participants discussed their experience with the innovation offensive pursued by the Federal Government. Between the two plenary sessions, four parallel sessions were held on business trends in manufacturing, commerce, construction and services. These sessions were introduced by Ifo experts and expanded and enriched by contributions from external experts. This article contains a summary of the event.