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GERMAN MODEL - A RECIPE FOR THE
ECONOMY
GERMAN MODEL - A RECIPE FOR THE WORLD
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Why look elsewhere for the answer when you have it already?
Why did the German economic model, combining social consciousness, capitalist-free enterprise, family spirit of entrepre neurship, and family run companies which shape and propel the German economy, turn out to be so resilient that it eventually became a winning combi nation for a robust economic system? Should everyone emulate it?
THE IDEAL BALANCE?
The Deutsche Welle has an explanation for us. They say that the German economy is regulated by the principle of "social market economy". This means that, on one hand, it is based on market
competition, and on the other, the state still has enough room for an interven tion. The German economy has been doing well in the last fifty years. In recent years, while the rest of Europe has been shaken by the financial and economic crisis, the German economy has been stable. A lot of Germany's success is ex plained by a combination of social and market components.
The roots of this system date back to the 19th century. Bismarck, the so-called Iron Chancellor, laid the groundwork for social legislation by establishing pension and health insurance - explains Werner Schreiber, the former Social Affairs Min ister of Saxony-Anhalt. At the time, expenditures were divided, that is, half was paid by the worker and half by the employer. This is still the central princi ple of today's social regulation, which after the Second World War, has been extended to family policy, social assis tance and many other aspects – the Deutsche Welle writes.
Salary autonomy is also a part of the German system. "In other words, trade unions and employers have the freedom to determine their own salaries - without getting the state involved", Schreiber said in an interview for the Deutsche Welle. Due to such a relationship between trade unions and employers, workers in Germany are less likely to go on strike, which is an economic advantage.
Some of the success is due to the socalled “wide social consensus” which is similar to their politics where Christian
SOME OF THE SUCCESS IS DUE TO THE SO-CALLED “WIDE SOCIAL CONSENSUS” WHERE ONE PART OF THE POPULATION IS NOT TRYING TO OUTVOTE THE OTHER
Democrats and Social Democrats frequently make “grand coalitions” to rule in everybody’s favour, when the elec tion results clearly show that the electorate did not believe anyone enough to give them the power to rule alone. Can you imagine such thing happen ing in America? A government made by Trump’s and Hillary’s ministers, working together? With a ceremonial president at the country’s helm? Well, that might be one of the reasons why Germany is doing the best in the world. Even their passport is always the first or the second best in the world in terms of vi sa-free travel. Germany as an economically strong country, accepting workers from all over the world, and a force of peace? Finally, all has fallen into place for a leader!
KNOW THYSELF, LOVE THYSELF LOCALLY (AND YOU WILL WIN GLOBALLY)
Another thing that is making the German economy so resilient is the federal and fractional spirit of the Germans which, contrary to the popular
PROFIT
A NETWORK OF PUBLICLY FUNDED RESEARCH INSTITUTES ARE COOPERATING WITH INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES ON TRYING TO DISCOVER THINGS THAT WILL NOT IMMEDIATELY MAKE A PROFIT
19th century belief that it produces a fragmented, weak state, resulted in a decentralised country with strong local spirit and loyalty. It has also prevent ed centralisation which has damaged other countries like Croatia, Greece, and Hungary. Instead, this strong loyalty (originating from the Middle Ages) to local brands has produced robust, equally distributed wealth. But the rest of the world is still facing a great challenge, both for states and economies, and that is centralisation. Thus, the intelligently conceived German state after the World War II prevented any kind of amassing of wealth in one or two big cities. Today, Berlin is the capital of culture, Frankfurt is the banking hub, Rurh is industrial, Hamburg is a port town, while Munich is a combination of several aforemen tioned things. Also, nobody is willing to abandon their own local customs. Why should they?!
INNOVATIONS!
Yes, once again, they are of crucial importance even in this case. Germany does not have enough natural resourc es, so it has to find new solutions. A network of publicly funded research in stitutes, such as Max-Planck and Frauenhofer, exist all over the country and are cooperating with industrial enter prises on trying to discover things that will not immediately make a profit. That is one more thing to have – patience. So un-American again!
15 YEARS OF AHK IN CROATIA
The German-Croatian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK) has more than 400 members today, making it the largest bilateral economic organization in Croatia
The German-Croatian Chamber of Industry Commerce and In dustry is part of a system of 140 foreign trade chambers and delegations representing the German economy at 92 locations around the world. It was founded 15 years ago, at the time when Croatia was starting to constitute its position as an independ ent state while going through an economic transition and working towards the European Union membership. In that period, as well as today, the Chamber was not only a representative of German economic interests but also an impor tant instrument and a reliable partner in advancement of economic, political, social and cultural ties between Croatia and Germany.
Along with the ever growing mem bership, the number of events, seminars, meetings, conferences and discussions organized by the Chamber grew too. Through these activities, con ducted in the last 15 years, the Chamber has made an important contribution to the development and advancing of the contacts between German and Croatian business people.
Croatia's accession to the European Union has resulted in the growing inter est of German companies for the Croatian market, both large companies and SMEs that make the core of the German economy. Apart from member companies, which come in all sizes, physical persons are also members of the Chamber.
The number of services that Chamber provides to its members has also been increasing, just like its membership. As a platform for fostering cooperation, the Chamber provides support at every stage of their business operations; from dispensing advice regarding new busi ness deals to networking and establishing contacts, as well as in exchanging information.
As part of its operations, the Chamber also provides its members with the op portunity of joint appearance in front of the state authorities and institutions, on top of active participation in bilater al meetings at the highest political level, in which the Chamber often takes part either as a host or a partner.
The German-Croatian Chamber of In dustry and Commerce is one of the most active economic organizations in the country and regularly organizes various networking events for its members, such as monthly Jour Fixe meetings, summer selebrations, Oktoberfest, football tour naments, delegation trips, Christmas receptions, professional conferences and many other forms of networking and establishing connections between members and other companies operat ing in the Croatian market.
SERVICE PROVIDER FOR
COMPANIES
The Chamber's team possesses a wealth of experience in terms of iden
WE ARE TRULY COMMITTED TO THE MADE IN GERMANY BRAND AND OUR PROFESSIONALISM AND THE QUALITY AND RELIABILITY OF OUR SERVICES ARE PARAMOUNT TO US
tifying business opportunities in both countries and if needed, it can rely on the experiences and the resources of the global network of German foreign trade chambers.
Our professionalism, quality and reli ability of our services are paramount in our work. The Chamber uses its knowhow and contacts with experts inside its chamber network to ensure that its members are always one step ahead of competition.
In addition to the aforementioned services, the Chamber offers a range of educational services in its portfolio. Small business owners, managers and employees use these opportunities to improve their know-how by attending seminars and workshops.
We play a significant role in the process of implementing the dual ed ucation system based on the German model in Croatian vocational schools.
The Chamber's daughter company, DKIHK Poslovne Usluge d. o. o. pro vides services both to members and non-members under the brand Deinter national, and handles several hundred inquiries annually.
