The Rise and Fall of Nations

Economic and technological superiority may give a nation supremacy, but what are the factors that determine economic prosperity and what influences the poverty or wealth of nations? An academic conference on this topic led by Dr. Wolfgang Quaisser and Dr. Martin Held took place on 23 and 24 May 2014 in the Akademie für Politische Bildung Tutzing. Michael Grömling, Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln, discusses the economic reasons for the rising overall macroeconomic importance of services in the long-term, and points out that manufacturing and services work hand-in-hand in modern economies. Markus Taube, University of Duisburg-Essen, cites reasons why China as an economic power fell behind Europe some time ago and, in his opinion, looks set to remain there. Jürgen Jerger, University of Regensburg and Institut für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung, Regensburg, shows that a country's policy can set the course for its economic rise or fall; and that the rise of one nation must not necessarily be accompanied by the fall of another.