Ifo Industry Colloquium 2007

On 18 October 2007 the Ifo Institute conducted its seventh Ifo Industry Colloquium in co-operation with the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Munich and Upper Bavaria and with support from the Bavarian State Ministry for Economics, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology. The analysis of the overall economy and the economic developments in manufacturing, construction, the distributive trade and selected service sectors was the goal of the conference. After words of welcome words from Reinhard Dörfler, chief executive of the Chamber, four parallel forums - manufacturing, construction, distribution and the services - analysed and discussed the economic trends in these sectors. The forums were opened with introductions by Ifo experts and the issues were discussed in depth by external experts. In the afternoon, the conference continued with a lecture by Hans-Werner Sinn, president of the Ifo Institute. In his presentation on "The Economic Situation in Germany and Europe", Sinn discussed the findings of the Joint Economic Forecast, which was presented to the press on the morning of the conference in Berlin. For the development of economic activity in Germany in 2008, this new forecast is marked by dampened optimism. It forecasts a continuation of the upswing but at a clearly reduced pace. For Sinn there are still good chances that the economy in Germany will experience a "golden autumn of a cyclical upswing" in 2008 and 2009 despite the risks that emanate from the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the USA and the growing strength of the euro.