Joint Economic Forecast

The Joint Economic Forecast is the authoritative economic forecast for Germany. It has been prepared by leading economic research institutes on behalf of the German Ministry of Economic Affairs since 1950.

Until 1996 the same 6 institutes were commissioned to prepare the Joint Economic Forecast.In 2007 the German Ministry of Economic Affairs switched to competitive tendering for the 3-year contract to prepare the Joint Economic Forecast. Institutes outside Germany were consequently also able to tender for the contract for the first time.

Bidding consortia comprising a maximum of three institutes were formed; the KOF submitted a tender together with the ifo Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich. As one of 4 consortia, the bidding consortium ifo/KOF was awarded the contract to prepare the forecast, which, together with the policy recommendations to the German Government, is published twice yearly – in spring and autumn respectively – under the title “Die Lage der Weltwirtschaft und der deutschen Wirtschaft”.

The ifo/KOF consortium was successful again in the competitive tendering in 2010.